Wall Street set to dip after jobs data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a slightly lower open on Thursday as a listless report on jobless claims offset cheer over a big software acquisition.

On the M&A front, German software company SAP AG plans to buy smaller U.S. rival Sybase Inc for $5.8 billion to acquire technology that delivers software to smartphones. Sybase surged 14.9 percent to $64.51 before the opening bell, while U.S.-listed shares of SAP were down 0.8 percent at $44.54.

But slightly disappointing data on the number of workers filing new applications for jobless benefits took some steam out of earlier gains in futures. The report also showed the number of people remaining on benefits unexpectedly rose.

"There are more jobs being created, but the general trend is that businesses are still reluctant to hire. They continue to improve productivity and profits by refraining to hire," said Gary Shilling, president at A. Gary Shilling & Co in Springfield, New jersey.

S&P 500 futures slipped 1.4 points and were 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 fell 32 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures eased 7.5 points.

Lending support to markets was an agreement from Portuguese leaders for tough new austerity measures.

While Portugal's plan follow a series of moves this week to prevent Greece's credit crisis from spreading to other weak euro-zone nations, analysts cautioned that uncertainties remained over whether the efforts would be enough.

"While they're taking the steps to shore up confidence, there's still a lot on the horizon that's not answered yet," said Chris Hobart, president of Hobart Financial Group in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Shares of Cisco Systems Inc slipped 3.1 percent to $25.91 after its chief executive expressed caution about the economy, even as its quarterly results beat expectations.

Financial stocks could come under pressure after reports the New York Attorney General's office was investigating whether eight banks misled ratings agencies about the quality of mortgage securities they were offering.

Stocks capped their best three-day run in 10 months on Wednesday, boosted by tech and industrial shares, as Spain unveiled an austerity plan that reassured investors that Europe was addressing its fiscal ills.

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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