Wall Street to open flat after jobless claims; housing data due

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open little changed on Thursday, in the wake of data showing initial jobless claims rose in the latest week but were still near pre-recession levels, and ahead of data on the housing market.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits were up 28,000 at 326,000 in the week ended May 17, above the 310,000 forecast but close to a seven-year low, pointing to ongoing healing in the labor market.

Existing home sales data for April is due later at 10:00 a.m., and will be monitored for signs of stabilization in the housing arena. Forecasts are for a rise of 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million, after hitting a 1-1/2 year low in March.

S&P 500 e-mini futures rose 0.75 point and were roughly even with 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 e-mini futures gained 11 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures added 3.25 points.

Best Buy Co rebounded from early declines in premarket trading to rise 1.3 percent to $25.69. The electronics retailer reported first-quarter earnings that topped expectations, though revenue fell short of forecasts as domestic comparable store sales fell 1.3 percent.

Sears Holdings Corp posted a bigger loss for the first quarter as the struggling retailer failed to arrest a fall in sales despite offering heavy discounts to woo shoppers. Its shares lost 1.5 percent to $36 before the opening bell.

Reynolds American Inc is in active discussions to buy Lorillard Inc in a complicated, three-way transaction that could see British American Tobacco PLC take a major role to back a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter.

Refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said it would buy oil and natural gas producer Hess Corp's retail business for about $2.87 billion. Shares of Hess gained 1.9 percent to $91 in premarket trading.

U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday from a selloff a day earlier, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average scoring its biggest gain in a month, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed central bankers had discussed the eventual tightening of monetary policy but didn't decide which tools to use.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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