Futures higher ahead of spate of U.S. economic data

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[November 25, 2015]  By Abhiram Nandakumar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday ahead of a flurry of data that could help sway the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to raise interest rates next month.

* Worries about the shooting down of a Russian warplane by Turkey, which weighed on stocks on Tuesday, seem to have abated, with traders looking forward to Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

* Global stocks rose, as did the dollar, after Reuters reported that European Central Bank officials are considering further monetary policy easing.

* U.S. indexes closed higher on Tuesday, after a weaker start, as energy stocks rose along with crude oil.

* Crude oil resumed its slide on Wednesday as investors turned their focus back to a global supply glut. [O/R]

* Investors, and the Fed, will get further insight into the state of the U.S. economy at 8.30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT) when data on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders for October and consumer spending for the same month are released.

* The University of Michigan's final index on consumer sentiment for November is due at 10.00 a.m., as is a report on single-family home sales for October.

* The Fed holds its last policy meeting of the year on Dec. 15-16, when it will decide whether to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.

* Shares of biotechnology company Baxalta were up 3.3 percent at $36.85 in premarket trading after Reuters reported that British drugmaker Shire was preparing a new takeover offer. Baxalta rejected an earlier unsolicited $30 billion offer.

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* HP Inc, the new company that houses the former Hewlett-Packard Co's printer and PC businesses, slipped 7.8 percent to $13.50 after it forecast an adjusted profit for the first quarter that fell short of estimates.

Futures snapshot at 7:12 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 43 points, or 0.24 percent, with 14,221 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.22 percent, with 93,146 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.21 percent, on volume of 13,974 contracts.

(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)

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