Stock index futures point to falls for Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street on Thursday, adding to weakness from the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq futures all down around 0.3 percent by 5:08 a.m. EDT.

Economic data from the labor and housing sector will provide fresh clues about the pace of economic growth. New home sales for May, due at 10 a.m. EDT, was expected to show a dip to 310,000 from 323,300 sales recorded in April before.

Weekly jobless claims due at 8:30 a.m. EDT was also expected to be closely watched, with claims seen holding steady at 415,000 after a drop in initial claims last week offered hope that the soft patch in the economy could be easing.

Oracle will release fourth-quarter results, with analysts expecting earnings per share of $0.71, up from $0.60 a year ago. Although the company has a habit of beating expectations, some investors fear billionaire Larry Ellison's software and server juggernaut will find it hard to keep up its own pace when it reports earnings and sets new forecasts.

Other companies to report earnings include ConAgra Foods , Lennar Corp and Discover Financial Services .

* In company news, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co rose 7.3 percent in extended trade after saying a blood thinner it developed along with proved superior to and safer than warfarin in preventing strokes in patients with dangerously irregular heart rhythms in a key clinical trial, greatly boosting its sales potential. Pfizer rose 3.9 percent.

AMR Corp's American Airlines, the operator of an all-Boeing jet fleet, is in talks with EADS's Airbus about buying at least 100 narrowbody planes, Bloomberg reported.

British regulator Ofcom has delivered its report on News Corp's proposed $14 billion acquisition of BSkyB to the UK government, bringing approval of the long-delayed deal closer.

U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut its forecasts for U.S. economic growth this year and next, without hinting at further plans for stimulus.

In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares slipped in early trade on poor economic data and after the Fed's downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.

Some caution also prevailed as European leaders meet on Thursday and will try to convince financial markets that they have a workable plan to help highly indebted Greece avoid a debt default.

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(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Dan Lalor)