Stock futures pare losses on strong jobless claims, consumer spending data

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pared back some losses from earlier in the day on Thursday after data showed jobless claims fell to a 15-year low and consumer spending rose in March, suggesting the economy was regaining some momentum after slowing to a crawl in the first quarter.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped to the lowest level since 2000.

The strong data comes a day after the Federal Reserve downgraded its view of the U.S. labor market and economy in a policy statement that suggested the central bank may have to wait until at least the third quarter to begin raising interest rates.

"I think we're going to see cleaner data come out in the second quarter and with the jobless claims being at their lowest levels in 15 years, that certainly points towards a strengthening labor market which has been a clear focus point of the Fed," said Mark Luschini, chief market strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 4.25 points and their fair value ? a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract ? indicated a lower open.

Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures <1YMc1> fell 35 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures lost 20.5 points.

ConocoPhillips fell 0.6 percent to $68.45 in premarket trading after it reported a sharp fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a steep decline in crude oil prices.

Companies continue to cite the strong dollar <.DXY> for cutting forecast, which has climbed nearly 9 percent against a basket of major currencies from January to March.

Colgate-Palmolive fell 1.7 percent to $67.30 after cutting its full-year profit forecast for the second time, saying the impact of the dollar would worsen.

Automotive supplier BorgWarner also cited the dollar for a fall in quarterly revenue. Its stock dropped 4 percent to $58.50.

Apple fell 0.6 percent to $127.88 after early adopters of the Apple Watch complained that many key functions are disrupted by their tattoos.

Yelp shares slumped 17 percent to $42.75 a day after the operator of consumer review website forecast second-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations.

Earnings expected after the close on Thursday include Dow component Visa , insurer AIG and LinkedIn .

Data expected later in the day include Chicago factory index numbers for April at 9:45 a.m. (1345 GMT)

(Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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