Stock futures little changed ahead of Friday's key jobs data

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of Friday's crucial jobs data that is likely to give clues regarding the timing of a rate increase by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

* The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite rose on Wednesday following three days of losses as tech shares advanced, while the blue-chip Dow index ticked lower, weighed by Walt Disney's largest daily drop in almost seven years.

* Data showed U.S. private job growth slowed in July, but a surge in services industry activity to a near-decade high suggested solid economic momentum that strengthens the case for a Fed interest rate hike this year.

* The Fed has said it will raise rates only when it sees a sustained recovery in the economy. A hike in rates, which have stayed near zero for nearly a decade, will increase the borrowing costs for companies, crimping profits.

* Data on Thursday is expected to show that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week is expected to have increased by 6,000 to 273,000. The numbers are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* Marathon Oil , Monster Beverage and Zynga are among the companies scheduled to report after the close of market.

* With about three-quarters of the companies having reported, second-quarter earnings are estimated to have increased 1.3 percent while revenues are projected to have fallen 3.5 percent.

* Mondelez International shares rose 6.9 percent to $49.42 in premarket trading after billionaire activist investor William Ackman's hedge fund said it has built a stake worth about $5.5 billion in the Cadbury chocolate and Oreo cookies maker.

* Tesla Motors fell 6.2 percent to $253.34 after the electric car maker posted a wider quarterly loss and said it may raise more cash to offset heavy spending on expanded production.

* Keurig Green Mountain slumped 30 percent to $52.76, a day after the company said it expects to reduce its workforce by about 5 percent and lowered its annual sales and earnings-per-share forecasts.

* Fitbit fell 9.5 percent to $46.70 after the wearable fitness tracking devices maker said margins fell in the second quarter that it does not expect margins to improve for the rest of the year.

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.25 points, or 0.01 percent, with 61,568 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.07 percent, on volume of 14,070 contracts.

* Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 8 points, or 0.05 percent, with 7,630 contracts changing hands.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal)

WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedinBeloudBluesky