* Crude oil rises 1.7 percent
* Alcoa results boost sentiment
* Weekly jobless claims on tap
* Futures up: Dow 42 pts; S&P 7.5 pts; Nasdaq 8.5 pts;
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
pointed to a higher open on Thursday after Alcoa posted
better-than-expected quarterly results and gave a positive tone
to the start of the second-quarter earnings season.
Weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT),
could test that optimism. The weekly data follows last week's
weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report.
Alcoa Inc's <AA.N> shares rose more than 5 percent in
premarket trading a day after posting a third consecutive
quarterly loss, with the deficit less than estimated.
Investors had been skittish ahead of what is expected to be
a weak earning season, but Alcoa's results provided some
relief.
Alcoa's smaller loss, however, underscored the toll the
recession is taking on corporate earnings.
Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in
Boston, said positive news that includes narrower losses may
not be enough to underpin the market.
"That's the rub. Is news that's less bad going to be enough
of a driver to move the market higher or at least keep us in
place? Or have we gotten to the point where we actually need to
start seeing good news?"
The S&P 500 has rallied nearly 40 percent from its 12-year
low set in early March on expectations that the economy would
rebound from a deep recession. The rally wilted as of late as
investors want hard evidence of that recovery.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 7.5 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> climbed
42 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures added 8.5 points.
Crude oil futures <CLc1> rose 1.7 percent and boosted
shares of European petroleum companies, setting a positive tone
for the energy sector in New York.
Oil giant Chevron Corp <CVX.N> is expected to report
interim quarterly results, according to Thomson Reuters.
Another piece of economic data, May wholesale inventories,
is due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). Also, retailers will report June
same-store sales throughout the day.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average <>
gained 0.18 percent, the Nasdaq Composite Index <> added
0.06 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX>
dropped 0.17 percent in a choppy session.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Leah
Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
