UNITED STATES

Wall Street was set to open lower on Thursday as investors fretted about the pace of the economic recovery, though a better-than-expected drop in initial jobless claims provided comfort.

New claims for jobless benefits fell last week, while orders for long-lasting manufactured goods excluding transportation rose in May, offering hope the fragile economic recovery remained intact.

Oil prices fell for a third day to beneath $76 a barrel on Thursday after a jump in U.S. crude oil inventories outweighed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates near zero. A dip in European shares on Thursday also dampened sentiment and reinforced the correlation between oil and equities. EU

Gold was flat to slightly firmer on Thursday as the Federal Reserve's vow to keep interest rates low and uncertainty over the global economy underpinned investor appetite. On Wednesday, weak U.S. housing data helped send gold to a low below $1,230 an ounce, but its recovery since then on bargain-hunting eased bearish views that gold cannot be an exception when a sell-off hits other commodities and stocks.

Stock index futures slipped on Thursday as the Federal Reserve underscored worries the recovery was not as robust as hoped and ahead of weekly initial jobless claims data.

European policymakers defended budget austerity plans on Thursday ahead of a G20 summit set to pit calls for fiscal restraint against warnings that heavy cost-cutting threatens recovery.

The dollar pared losses and the yen rose on Thursday, as a less optimistic outlook on growth from the U.S. Federal Reserve dented investors' appetite for risk, while the euro was hampered by Greek debt markets.

Oil prices fell for a third day to around $76 a barrel on Thursday after a jump in U.S. crude oil inventories outweighed the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates near zero.

Gold was broadly steady on Thursday, weighed slightly by traditional currency fundamentals as the dollar rose, but expectations for low interest rates and wider market jitters were keeping the metal's uptrend intact.

The dollar pared losses and the yen rose on Thursday, as the Federal Reserve's less optimistic outlook for growth dented risk sentiment, while the euro was hampered by Greek debt markets.

Hundreds of fans flocked to stores in Tokyo to be the first buyers of Apple's iPhone 4 and some lined up in San Francisco as the red-hot smartphone rolls out on Thursday in five of the world's six largest economies.

The yuan CNY=CFXS closed higher against the dollar on Thursday after moving in a wide range of more than 150 pips, as the central bank returned to a more laissez faire stance seen early in the week and let the market have a bigger say in traded values.

The BP crisis in the Gulf of Mexico has rightfully been analysed (mostly) from the ecological perspective. People's lives and livelihoods are in grave danger. But that focus has equally masked something very serious from a financial perspective, in my opinion, that could lead to an acceleration of the crisis brought about by the Lehman implosion.

Global oil prices rose marginally in Asian trade Thursday mainly after positive trends in local equity markets. Light sweet crude for August delivery was seen trading at $76.48 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 76.41 a barrel in London.

Gold steadied in Asian trade Thursday after a fall of 0.5 percent overnight on a rising dollar. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1235.25 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while US gold futures for August delivery was at $1236.01 an ounce.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq down 0.6 to 1.1 percent at 4:44 a.m. EDT.

Global equities and crude prices eased on Thursday on concerns over economic growth after the U.S. Federal Reserve's pessimistic outlook, though the dollar recovered from the previous session's losses.

Verizon Wireless plans to start selling Droid X next month, launching the latest phone from Motorola Inc based on Google Inc's Android software.

Asian stocks firmed on Thursday, lifted by gain in miners on expectations Australia's government would compromise on a controversial mining tax, while the U.S. dollar eased after the Federal Reserve said the economic recovery was faltering.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was inspired by a tour of Silicon Valley on Wednesday and left determined to replicate the U.S. technology hub at home, despite pessimism that Russia could create a sufficiently open environment to nurture success.

Fans stormed Apple Inc's store in Japan and operator Softbank Corp's outlets as the company launched a slim new version of its wildly popular iPhone.