US STOCKS-Stimulus hopes lift futures ahead of weekly jobless claims data

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Futures up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.50%, Nasdaq 0.62%

By Sagarika Jaisinghani
Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose for a second
straight day on Thursday as bets of a piecemeal fiscal stimulus
deal lifted sentiment ahead of data on weekly jobless claims
that is likely to show a labor market recovery continuing to
sputter.
The Labor Department's report is expected to show 820,000
Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended Oct.
3, slightly down from 837,000 in the previous week, but still
hovering at recession levels.
Signs of a slowing domestic economic rebound and political
uncertainty in the run up to the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential
election halted a five-month gaining streak for Wall Street's
main indexes in September.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has since called upon
Washington to deliver more fiscal stimulus to support businesses
and households.
After U.S. President Donald Trump dashed hopes for a
comprehensive coronavirus relief bill on Tuesday, investors are
counting on at least a partial deal that could include a bailout
package for the battered airline industry.
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N , American Airlines
Group Inc AAL.O , United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O and
JetBlue Airways Corp JBLU.O were up between 0.8% and 1.7% in
early premarket trading.
Analysts and fund managers said equity markets had also
begun to digest the prospect of Democratic presidential nominee
Joe Biden winning the election. Public opinion polls and betting
markets have shown support rising for Biden after Trump said
last week he had contracted COVID-19.
Trump is scheduled later in the day to appear in his first
TV interview since the announcement on Friday. Fox Business
Network said the interview would air after 8 a.m. ET (1200 GMT).
At 6:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 150 points, or
0.53%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 17 points, or 0.5%, and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 71 points, or 0.62%.
Coty Inc COTY.N jumped 5.1% after the cosmetics maker
announced the launch of direct-to-consumer websites for Kylie
Skin brand in the UK, France, Germany and Australia.
With the third-quarter earnings season kicking off next
week, analysts expect earnings at S&P 500 companies to have
dropped about 21% in the quarter from a year ago, according to
IBES data from Refinitiv.