US STOCKS-Wall St set for muted open as weekly jobless claims rise

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* S&P 500 on pace for best November ever
* Thin volumes expected ahead of Thanksgiving holiday
* Futures: Dow down 0.19%, S&P off 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.25%

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By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Shivani Kumaresan
Nov 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for a
subdued open on Wednesday as a surprise jump in weekly jobless
claims added to signs that the labor market recovery was
stalling amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless
benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 778,000 for the week
ended Nov. 21, compared with 748,000 in the prior week, the
Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast
730,000 applications. "There is some concern that the labor market is taking a
step backwards as opposed to forward on the heels of stimulus
having run out and no more stimulus packages in the offing,"
said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment
Management in Chicago.
With no fiscal stimulus in sight, hopes of a vaccine and
recent data suggesting business activity would bounce back next
year have lifted Wall Street's main indexes to record highs and
set the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX on course for its best November
ever.
Market participants said they expected U.S. stocks to climb
even higher, with a recent Reuters poll showing the S&P 500 is
poised to rise 9% between now and the end of 2021. The index has
surged 66% since the coronavirus-led crash in March and is up
about 12.5% so far this year. As investors returned to cyclical sectors such as
industrials and energy, which are set to benefit most from an
economic recovery, the S&P value index .IVX gained about 11%
this month after underperforming the benchmark index all year.
But by 8:51 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the Nasdaq 100 futures
NQcv1 rose 0.25%, outperforming the S&P 500 EScv1 and the
Dow futures 1YMc1 , indicating demand for the technology
mega-caps that are seen as relatively safe during the recession.
Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 58 points, or 0.19%, and S&P
500 e-minis EScv1 were down 2.25 points, or 0.06%.
Shares of major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM.N and Citigroup C.N were down between 0.5% and 1.7% in
premarket trading, while technology heavyweights Facebook Inc
FB.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O gained about 0.4%.
Trading volumes are expected to be light ahead of the
Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.
Among individual stocks, Gap Inc GPS.N fell 11.5% in
premarket trading as the apparel retailer missed quarterly
profit expectations on Tuesday. Moderna Inc MRNA.O gained 1.2% after securing a vaccine
supply deal with the European Union.