Futures flat ahead of Obama speech

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors awaited data on the labor market ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's speech unveiling his plan to stimulate jobs growth.

Weekly U.S. jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), which investors will comb for signs the recovery is improving. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 405,000 new filings, compared with 409,000 in the prior week.

After last Friday's dismal U.S. nonfarm payroll data, investors will closely watch Obama's televised speech to Congress at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT). The president is expected to propose tax cuts for middle-class households and businesses and new spending to repair roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.7 point and slightly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures dipped 7 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 6.5 points.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech on the U.S. economic outlook to the Economic Club of Minnesota at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT), but he is unlikely to announce any outline new measures to boost the flagging recovery.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled a fraud lawsuit against Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co and other lenders involving mortgage practices cannot proceed.

A lawsuit against Apple Inc by HTC Corp <2498.TW> has been extended to include nine more patents the Taiwanese firm acquired from Google Inc last week.

The U.S. Labor Department is investigating pay practices at homebuilders PulteGroup Inc Lennar Corp , D.R. Horton Inc and KB Home , the Wall Street Journal reported.

Microsoft Corp will unveil an early version of Windows 8, a touch-enabled, tablet-friendly operating system, at its annual conference in Anaheim next Tuesday.

FedEx Corp is looking to update its aging fleet of cargo planes and considering buying wide-body freighters from Boeing Co and Airbus SAS , Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

A profit-sharing deal for workers is on the table in contract talks between General Motors Co and the United Auto Workers union, sources told Reuters.

European stocks rose 0.8 percent early Thursday, extending the previous session's rebound as investors bet on a more dovish tone from the European Central Bank, scooping up recently battered banking shares. <.EU>

In Asia, the Nikkei stock average pulled further away from a six-month low hit this week, boosted by optimism about Europe solving its debt crisis, but the rise was tempered by continuing uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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