Wall Street to open lower after JP Morgan results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Friday after earnings from JP Morgan Chase, putting the S&P 500 on track to continue its selloff after suffering its biggest drop in two months.

* JPMorgan Chase & Co shares fell 3.6 percent to $55.35 in premarket after it reported a far weaker-than-expected quarterly profit as revenue from securities trading fell.

* Wells Fargo & Co , the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, reported a 14 percent rise in first-quarter net profit as costs fell. Its shares slipped 1 cent to $47.70 in premarket.

* S&P 500 companies' first-quarter earnings are projected to have increased just 1 percent from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed. The forecast is down sharply from the start of the year, when profit growth was estimated at 6.5 percent. Investors will be looking at the impact of harsh winter weather on first-quarter earnings, and signs of optimism for the second-quarter.

* Another sharp selloff in biotech and momentum names on Thursday sent the Nasdaq <.IXIC> to its worst decline since November 9, 2011 and the benchmark S&P index <.SPX> to its biggest fall since Feb 3. Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc lost 1.7 percent to $54.35 in premarket.

* Equities have been volatile this week, with Thursday's move a sharp reversal from gains on Wednesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policymakers' meeting suggested members were more likely to keep rates low than previously expected. The CBOE Volatility index <.VIX> is up nearly 14 percent for the week, closing at its highest level since March 14 on Thursday.

* S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 9 points and below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 77 points and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 26 points.

* For the week, the Dow is down 1.5 percent, the S&P is down 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq is down 1.8 percent.

* The seasonally adjusted producer price index for final demand increased 0.5 percent last month, the largest increase in nine months after slipping 0.1 percent in February, pointing to some pockets of inflation at the factory gate.

* At 9:55 a.m. (1355 GM), the preliminary Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment for March is due. Estimates call for a reading of 81 versus the 80 in the prior month.

* Gap Inc lost 3.8 percent to $37.81 before the opening bell after the retailer posted its March sales results.

* Datawatch Corp tumbled 27.6 percent to $15 in premarket after the software company gave its second-quarter outlook.

* U.S. tax preparer H&R Block Inc said it would sell its bank unit to BofI Federal Bank , freeing the company from Federal Reserve oversight. H&R Block shares gained 7 percent to $30.40 while BofI Holdings climbed 10.5 percent to $82.28 before the opening bell.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)