Stock futures up ahead of jobless data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Thursday as investors awaited weekly jobless claims data and earnings from technology giants Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc for signs of improvement in the tepid economic recovery.

At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the Labor Department will report first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended August 14. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 476,000 new filings, compared with 484,000 in the prior week.

Earnings reports will come later Thursday from Hewlett-Packard , Dell , Gap Inc ,Salesforce.com Inc and GameStop Corp , .

"After recent consumer related data that suggested confidence may be coming back, the market is beginning to anticipate other sectors to show some stability," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

Although the market still lacks a catalyst for a sustained rally, "the fear factor of a double-dip recession is dissipating," he added.

Other economic indicators due include U.S. July leading economic indicators and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank August business activity survey, both at 10 a.m. EDT.

S&P 500 futures rose 5.6 points and were 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 rose 37 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 8.75 points.

In corporate news, BHP Billiton Ltd is focused on getting regulatory approval for its $39 billion hostile bid for Potash Corp before trying to win over Potash shareholders, a source said.

U.S.-traded shares of BHP rose nearly 1 percent to $68.70 in premarket trading, while Potash added 0.4 percent at $148.52.

American International Group Inc is laying the groundwork for its first debt offering in two years in what could be a test of whether investors think the bailed-out insurance giant can stand on its own, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shares in NetApp Inc fell 3.4 percent to $38 premarket after the U.S. data storage equipment maker said revenue just beat estimates as quarterly profit more than doubled.

Congressional analysts are set to release an authoritative outlook on budget deficits as U.S. President Barack Obama tries to ease voter anxiety about spending gaps that some fear may thwart efforts to revive the economy.

U.S.-listed shares of Nokia rose 2.7 percent at $9.20 premarket after a Finnish newspaper reported it could be an acquisition target because its stock is so cheap. The report cited Microsoft Corp , Google Inc or Cisco Systems Inc as potential acquirers.

Wall Street ended higher Wednesday, led by gains in consumer stocks after a sales forecast from discounter Target Corp temporarily quelled concerns about consumer demand.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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