U.S. stock futures little changed as investors await GDP data

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of second-quarter gross domestic product numbers that will give clues regarding the health of the economy even as the Fed left the door open for a possible interest rate hike in September.

* The U.S. economy and job market continue to strengthen, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, but left rates unchanged.

* The Fed has maintained near-zero interest rates for nearly a decade and has said it will raise rates only when it sees a sustained recovery in the economy.

* The U.S. economy is expected to have expanded during the second quarter. The gross domestic product data, expected at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), is projected to have risen at a 2.6 percent annual rate in April-June, compared with a contraction of 0.2 percent annual rate in January-March.

* U.S. stocks closed stronger on Wednesday after the Fed statement. The S&P 500 has bounced about 2 percent higher in the past two days following a near-3 percent drop over the preceding week that had been caused in part by a rout in China's stock markets.

* More than halfway through the second-quarter earnings season, analysts expect overall earnings of S&P 500 companies to edge up 0.8 percent and revenue to decline 3.9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

* While earnings are expected to increase this quarter, valuations remain a concern. The S&P 500 is trading near 16.9 times forward 12-month earnings, above the 10-year median of 14.7 times, according to StarMine data.

* Companies scheduled to report during the day include Mondelez International before the bell and Expedia , LinkedIn and Western Union after the close.

* Facebook shares fell 1.2 percent to $95.85 in premarket trading after the social media company's quarterly profit fell due to higher costs.

* Whole Foods Market slumped 13.7 percent to $35.22 after same-store sales growth cooled.

* Skechers USA jumped 12.1 percent to $144 as the sports shoe maker and retailer reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.

* Cigna was up 2.4 percent at $148.85 after the health insurer's quarterly profit rose.

Futures snapshot at 7:23 a.m. ET:

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.07 percent, with 99,984 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.07 percent, on volume of 13,870 contracts.

* Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 11 points, or 0.06 percent, with 12,369 contracts changing hands.

(Editing by Don Sebastian)

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