Stock futures flat ahead of data, trading may be volatile

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors looked ahead to data that may give insight into the strength of the economy a day before the crucial payroll report.

Markets will still be dealing with the aftermath of a massive storm in the U.S. northeast, which forced a historic two-day market closure. Trading could be volatile, with many market participants unable to reach their offices, or working from home amid persisting power outages and limited mass transit.

Those who are able to trade will find no shortage of news.

Weekly jobless claims are on tap for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), with monthly reads on construction spending, manufacturing and consumer confidence due out at 10:00 a.m.

"The data is front and center today, and no one is doing much before that, but there are a fair number of firms still dealing with technology and power issues because of the storm," said James Dailey, portfolio manager of TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Volume won't be that significant, it seems like most firms are shooting for Monday for full operational capacity."

Jobless claims are seen rising 1,000 to 370,000 in the latest week, while confidence rises to 72.5 from 70.3, and a read on manufacturing, both for October, is seen edging down to 51.2 from 51.5. Construction spending for the month of September is seen rising 0.6 percent.

In addition, the ADP National Employment report, the release of which was delayed by a day because of the storm, is due at 8:15 a.m., and is expected to show that jobs growth slowed in October from September.

More earnings reports are due, including those of Exxon Mobil Corp , Kellogg , Starbucks and Cigna

Pfizer Inc , which delayed the release of its results because of the storm, posted revenue that fell far short of expectations, sending shares down 2.1 percent to $24.35 in premarket trading.

S&P 500 futures fell 1.3 point 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 slid 12 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.25 points.

The S&P 500 fell 2 percent in the month of October, breaking a four-month streak of gains.

TEAM's Dailey said that if the S&P falls under a support level around 1,400, "then volatility could spike quite a bit. That's a level a lot of people are hoping will hold, and if it doesn't hold, we could fall another three to five percent."

Tech shares will be in focus in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report saying that private-equity firm New Mountain Capital was nearing a deal to buy JDA Software Group for about $1.9 billion. The paper cited people familiar with the matter.

Overseas markets were higher, with Europe boosted by strong results from such companies as Royal Dutch Shell and Chinese shares posting their strongest daily gains in more than three weeks on bullish data.

U.S. shares of Sony Corp edged lower in premarket trading after the company posted a small profit in its latest quarter, though it affirmed its full-year view.

The U.S. stock market slowly returned to life on Wednesday after the market's first weather-related two-day closure since the late 19th century. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed little changed while the Nasdaq edged lower in a session with slightly less than average volume.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-ends-flat-tech-shares-dip-sandy-042840406--finance.html

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