U.S. stocks set to open higher on consumer spending data

(Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on Thursday as data showed that the U.S. economy was on the path to recovery after consumer spending recorded its largest increase in nearly six years.

Investors have been keeping a sharp eye on economic data for signs of a recovery in the U.S. economy, which came to a crawl in the first quarter, as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending increased 0.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since August 2009, after the 0.1 percent rise in April. Personal income increased 0.5 percent last month after a similar gain in April.

Weekly jobless claims rose 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 271,000 for the week ended June 20 but labor market conditions continued to tighten.

Talks between Greece and its international creditors remained inconclusive, but markets remained hopeful that a last-minute deal will materialize. Greece's creditors will now put forward their own proposal for a cash-for-reforms deal.

Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday as it took cues from the latest situation in Greece, with all 10 major S&P 500 sectors closing in the red.

"The market continues to be held hostage to the situation in Greece," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

"Yesterday, it looked like the talks were less constructive and today we are seeing some movement in the right direction. The market would just like to see this situation in the rear-view mirror."

Financial firm Markit releases its Purchasing Managers Index for June at 9:45 a.m. ET, which is expected to have increased slightly to 56.7 from 56.2 in May.

Fed Governor Jerome Powell will speak before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, in Kansas City, Missouri.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 5 points, or 0.24 percent, with 189,050 contracts traded at 8:48 a.m. ET. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 13.5 points, or 0.3 percent, on volume of 33,578 contracts while Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 49 points, or 0.27 percent, with 31,799 contracts changing hands.

IAC/Interactive shares jumped 7.1 percent to $82.75 after it said it planned to list its dating business, which includes Match.com and mobile dating app Tinder.

Molycorp slumped 35.6 percent to 23 cents after the rare earths miner filed for bankruptcy protection to restructure $1.7 billion of debt.

Cree fell 7.7 percent to $28.21, a day after the company cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.

Winnebago Industries rose 6.3 percent to $22 after the motorhomes maker reported a 7.6 pct rise in quarterly revenue helped by higher shipments of its motorhomes.

(Editing by Don Sebastian)