Wall Street set to open lower after economic data

By Sruthi Shankar

REUTERS - Wall Street was set to open lower on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims rose more than expected and the third-quarter GDP growth may slow due to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

However, the economy grew a bit faster than previously estimated in the second quarter, recording its quickest pace in more than two years, according to a Commerce Department report.

Separately, a Labor Department report showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to 272,000 for the week ended Sept. 23. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 270,000 in the latest week.

Expectations for a third interest rate hike this year were boosted by recent comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and a stronger-than-expected data on U.S. durable goods orders on Wednesday.

Traders see a 78 percent chance of a December rate hike, compared with roughly 73 percent a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Wall Street gained on Wednesday as financial stocks rose on growing expectations for a December rate hike and on hopes President Donald Trump's administration may be making progress on a tax plan.

Trump proposed on Wednesday the biggest U.S. tax overhaul in three decades, calling for tax cuts for most Americans, but prompting criticism that the plan favors business and the rich and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit.

"You may get a little bit of a readjustment in terms of evaluation of the tax proposal," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"When you look at the difficulties they've had with the healthcare bill, I think there's going to be a lot of second guessing on their ability to get it done."

At 8:33 a.m. ET (1233 GMT), Dow e-minis were down 45 points, or 0.2 percent, with 20,824 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were down 4.5 points, or 0.18 percent, with 145,313 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 19.75 points, or 0.33 percent, on volume of 34,236 contracts.

Accenture was down 1.42 percent in premarket trading, despite reporting better-than-expected revenue.

U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank rose 2.72 percent after a Moody's report said it maintained stable outlook for Germany's banking system.

Medical device maker Dexcom slumped 27 percent after the U.S. FDA approved Abbott's glucose monitoring device.

Blackberry's U.S.-listed shares jumped 7.69 percent after the company reported stronger-than-expected results and raised its revenue forecast, helped by record sales in its closely watched software business.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)