Wall Street set to open flat as investors await data

[March 03, 2016]  By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - Wall Street looked set to open little changed on Thursday as investors await a raft of economic data, including the monthly jobs report on Friday, to further assess the health of the economy.

While concerns linger over the state of the global economy, upbeat data from major economies this week and signs of a rebound in commodity prices have helped ease some of those worries.

Jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, but the underlying trend continued to point to a strengthening labor market.

The data comes ahead of the comprehensive labor report for February on Friday and is expected to show an addition of 190,000 jobs.

The ISM non-manufacturing PMI index, expected at 10 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), is likely to show a slight drop to 53.2 in February from 53.5 in January, suggesting that the services sector slowed slightly, although it continues to expand.

"I think we're looking at a mixed to positive session today," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

"Investors are in a holding pattern before we get some clarity ahead of the monthly employment numbers and the Fed meeting later this month."

S&P 500 e-minis were down 2 points, or 0.1 percent, with 194,477 contracts traded at 8:37 a.m. ET. Nasdaq 100 e-minis  were down 1.25 points, or 0.03 percent, on volume of 22,769 contracts. Dow e-minis  were down 12 points, or 0.07 percent, with 23,057 contracts changing hands.

Solid economic data could bolster expectations that the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates this year. Fed funds futures suggested traders are pricing in a 61 percent chance of a rate hike by year-end. The central bank meets next on March 15-16.

The calmer mood in world markets showed in the CBOE Volatility index - a measure of investor anxiety - which closed at its lowest level so far this year on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday's close, the S&P 500 index is down only 2.8 percent, recouping from a fall of over 10 percent earlier this year.

Brent crude prices  slipped 0.3 percent to $36.80 but are still up about 35 percent from last month's lows. U.S. crude futures were down 0.2 percent to $34.60. [O/R]

Shares of Herbalife  were down 7.5 percent at $52.15 in premarket trading after the company said it had overstated growth in the number of new members in some instances due to a database error.

Kroger  was down 5.4 percent at $15.93 after the largest U.S. supermarket operator's quarterly sales missed estimates.

Joy Global  was down 2.4 percent at $13 after the mining equipment maker's quarterly sales fell 25 percent amid a commodity slump.

Tumi Holdings jumped 34.1 percent to $27 after the Wall Street Journal reported Samsonite International <1910.HK> is nearing a deal to buy the luggage maker.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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