S&P looks set to snap seven-day losing streak

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 looked set to snap a seven-day losing streak on Thursday, but a fall in Facebook's shares dragged down Nasdaq futures.

Tension in global markets rattled by U.S. election nerves eased after a UK court ruling that parliament must approve a government decision to trigger Brexit.

Facebook fell 5 percent to $120.87 in premarket trading, a day after the social media giant warned that revenue growth would slow this quarter.

The S&P 500 ended lower on Wednesday for a seventh straight session, its longest such streak in five years, as the Federal Reserve signaled it could hike interest rates in December and the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. election.

The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady, but said the economy had gained steam and job gains remained solid. Policymakers also expressed more optimism that inflation was moving towards their 2 percent target.

Investors have been unnerved by a tightening race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump before next week's presidential election.

While some polls put Trump ahead on Tuesday, an average of polls compiled by the RealClearPolitics website showed Clinton retaining a slight lead. A Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released late on Wednesday showed Clinton ahead by 6 percentage points among likely voters.

"The market is having a bit of a rethink about the slide in the past few days and the UK court decision this morning is also lifting equities a little bit," said Michael Baughen, global investment specialist at JP Morgan Private Bank in Tampa, Florida.

"However, we remain in a risk-off, low-conviction-trading environment until the election next week."

S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.75 points, or 0.23 percent, with 217,534 contracts traded at 8:32 a.m. ET (1232 GMT).

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.03 percent, on volume of 39,758 contracts.

Dow e-minis were up 41 points, or 0.23 percent, with 38,820 contracts changing hands.

Gold was down 0.6 percent but had touched $1,300 an ounce earlier in the day, after hovering near its one-month high on Tuesday.

Crude oil futures edged up, supported by news of an attack on a Nigerian oil pipeline and a weaker U.S. dollar, after four days of falls over scepticism that a global glut in crude supplies could be stemmed. [O/R]

Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to near three-month high last week, but remained below a level associated with a strong labor market.

The Institute of Supply Management's forecast is expected to suggest the index dropped to 56.0 in October from 57.1 in September. The report is due at 10 a.m. ET.

Another set of data is likely to show factory orders added 0.2 percent in September.

Fitbit sank 29.7 percent to $9 after the wearable fitness device maker's revenue forecast for the key holiday shopping quarter fell well below estimates.

Whole Foods Market rose 3.7 percent to $29.56 after the company said sales declines at established stores are easing.

Wynn Resorts fell 5 percent to $96.52 after a host of brokerages cut their price targets on the stock, following weak quarterly results.

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