Wall St. set for flat open; Barclays lawsuit in focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a flat open on Thursday after snapping a two-day losing streak, with focus on financial stocks following a fraud lawsuit against British bank BARCLAYS (BARC.LO)

* Market reaction was muted to economic reports that showed weekly jobless claims fell marginally last week while U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in May.

* Alcoa Inc shares rose 5.3 percent in premarket trade after the company agreed to buy aircraft parts maker Firth Rixson from private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners for $2.85 billion in cash and stock.

* Financial stocks were likely to be in the spotlight the New York State's attorney general filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Barclays , accusing the British bank of giving an unfair edge in the United States to high-frequency trading clients even as it claimed to be protecting other customers from such traders.

* U.S.-listed shares of Barclays fell 5.3 percent in premarket trade. Other European banks were also hit with U.S.-listed shares of UBS AG down 2.1 percent and Credit Suisse off 3.1 percent.

* Shares of the wearable sports camera maker GoPro will debut on the Nasdaq after 17.8 million class A shares priced at $24 per share, the top end of the expected price range. The IPO raised about $427.2 million.

* S&P 500 e-mini futures were flat and in line with fair value - a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract - indicating a flat open. Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures <1YMc1> added 7 points while Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures added 2.75 points.

* European stocks inched up on Thursday, halting the previous session's selloff, but Barclays led falls in banking shares. The European banking sector index <.SX7P> shed 0.6 percent.

* Accenture Plc , a consulting and outsourcing company, reported a 7.5 percent rise in quarterly net revenue, led by faster growth in its consulting business. The stock was up 1.8 percent in premarket trade.

* On Wednesday U.S. stocks rose, led by drugmakers, while a Supreme Court ruling lifted shares of major broadcasters. The S&P 500's gains followed two days of losses, putting the index on track for a decline of 0.2 percent for the week.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)

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