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*
The U.S. economy and job market continue to strengthen, the
Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, but left rates unchanged.
* The Fed has maintained near-zero interest rates for nearly a
decade and has said it will raise rates only when it sees a
sustained recovery in the economy.
* The U.S. economy is expected to have expanded during the
second quarter. The gross domestic product data, expected at
8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), is projected to have risen at a 2.6
percent annual rate in April-June, compared with a contraction
of 0.2 percent annual rate in January-March.
* U.S. stocks closed stronger on Wednesday after the Fed
statement. The S&P 500 has bounced about 2 percent higher in the
past two days following a near-3 percent drop over the preceding
week that had been caused in part by a rout in China's stock
markets.
* More than halfway through the second-quarter earnings season,
analysts expect overall earnings of S&P 500 companies to edge up
0.8 percent and revenue to decline 3.9 percent, according to
Thomson Reuters data.
* While earnings are expected to increase this quarter,
valuations remain a concern. The S&P 500 is trading near 16.9
times forward 12-month earnings, above the 10-year median of
14.7 times, according to StarMine data.
* Companies scheduled to report during the day include Mondelez
International <MLDZ.O> before the bell and Expedia <EXPE.O>,
LinkedIn <LNKD.N> and Western Union <WU.N> after the close.
* Facebook <FB.O> shares fell 1.2 percent to $95.85 in premarket
trading after the social media company's quarterly profit fell
due to higher costs.
* Whole Foods Market <WFM.O> slumped 13.7 percent to $35.22
after same-store sales growth cooled.
* Skechers USA <SKX.N> jumped 12.1 percent to $144 as the sports
shoe maker and retailer reported a better-than-expected rise in
quarterly revenue.
* Cigna <CI.N> was up 2.4 percent at $148.85 after the health
insurer's quarterly profit rose.
Futures snapshot at 7:23 a.m. ET:
* S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were down 1.5 points, or 0.07 percent,
with 99,984 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 3.25 points, or 0.07
percent, on volume of 13,870 contracts.
* Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 11 points, or 0.06 percent, with
12,369 contracts changing hands.
(Editing by Don Sebastian)
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