US STOCKS-Futures slip with focus on jobless claims as Fed underwhelms

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* Futures off: Dow 0.85%, S&P 1.01%, Nasdaq 0.99%

By Sagarika Jaisinghani
Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday as
investors braced for data likely to show persistently high
levels of weekly jobless claims, adding to concerns about an
economic rebound a day after the Federal Reserve issued an
underwhelming stimulus plan.
The Labor Department's weekly report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET,
is expected to show about 850,000 Americans filed for
unemployment benefits in the week ended Sept. 12, a touch lower
than 884,000 in the previous week, but still suggesting the
labor market's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was stalling.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell
also indicated a long road to "maximum employment" and said the
central bank was limited in its capacity to address some of the
gaps around wage growth and workforce participation.
The S&P 500 .SPX sold off after his remarks, with the
technology sector .SPLRCT , which had been recovering from a
rout earlier in September, tumbling 1.6%. A broader slump in
tech-related stocks halted a five-month rally in the benchmark
index this month and pushed the Nasdaq into correction.
At 6:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 239 points,
or 0.85%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 34.25 points, or
1.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 111.5 points, or
0.99%.
The big U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N ,
Bank of America Corp BAC.N , Citigroup Inc C.N and Wells
Fargo & Co WFC.N fell about 1% in thin premarket trading.
Carnival Corp CCL.N dropped 3.8% after its British
cruiseline P&O Cruises extended a cancellation in sailings until
early 2021. Other cruise operators such as Royal Caribbean
Cruises RCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N
shed about 2%.
German biotech firm BioNTech SE BNTX.O rose 3.1% as it
said it was buying a production site from Swiss drugs giant
Novartis NOVN.S to boost output of its potential coronavirus
vaccine by several million doses.