US STOCKS-S&P futures muted as COVID-19 cases surge; tech stocks shine

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* Futures: Dow down 0.3%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.4%

By Medha Singh
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Futures tracking the S&P 500 were little
changed on Thursday as U.S. coronavirus infections surged and
investors weighed the timeline of the roll-out of an effective
vaccine, while technology stocks headed higher for the second
straight day.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Microsoft
Corp MSFT.O , which are among stocks that have logged strong
demand for their products and services in the work-from-home
environment, rose about 0.5% each in premarket trading, while
futures for the Nasdaq 100 NQcv1 were up 0.4%.
New coronavirus cases in the United States surged above
100,000 for an eighth consecutive day, with the situation
expected to worsen as winter sets in. New York became the latest
state to introduce social distancing restrictions on Wednesday.
American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O , United Airlines
Holdings Inc UAL.O and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N ,
among companies dealt the hardest blow from the virus outbreak,
fell between 1.0% and 2.3%.
Investors will keep an eye out for the Labor Department's
report at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), which is expected to show
jobless claims fell slightly in the latest week, but the pace of
job recovery slowed as fiscal stimulus waned.
Wall Street's three main indexes have climbed between 8% and
11% in less than two weeks on prospects of measured industry
regulation from a potentially divided Congress, as well as an
encouraging update from a late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial.
After markets close, Walt Disney Co DIS.N and networking
gear maker Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O are slated to report
results.
At 06:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 0.35% and
S&P E-minis EScv1 fell 0.03%.