US STOCKS-Futures tick higher as investors hold out for recovery

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* Weekly jobless claims rise less than expected
* Walgreens drops after swinging to quarterly loss
* Cisco rises after Morgan Stanley upgrade
* Futures up: Dow 0.04%, S&P 0.20%, Nasdaq 0.67%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh
July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on
Thursday after data pointed to a declining trend in weekly
jobless claims, with investors also weighing the risk of another
business shutdown as U.S. COVID-19 cases soared.
The Labor Department's most timely data on the economy
showed 1.31 million Americans filed for state unemployment
benefits in the latest week, down from 1.43 million claims in
the prior week. It also fared better than economists' estimates
of 1.38 million claims. However, the labor market remains fragile as the United
States reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 infections on
Wednesday, setting a single day global record. While the recent surge has forced some states to roll back
their reopening plans, market experts expect only a delay in
U.S. economic recovery, with many seeing growth returning in
2021.
A batch of upbeat economic data including the record pace of
job additions in June has underscored that the stimulus-fueled
domestic economy was on the path to recovery.
The benchmark S&P 500 has risen more than 40% from its March
lows and is now about 7% below its February record high.
"If we do see a further deterioration in U.S. case growth
and therefore potentially some form of lockdown, in response
some form of asset purchase extension becomes more likely (from
the Federal Reserve)," Brooks Macdonald Asset Management's
Edward Park said.
"That's why the market's quite quiet, it's the imbalance
between those two factors."
The three main indexes charged ahead in the final hour of
trading on Wednesday, with Nasdaq logging its fourth record
closing high this month powered by technology stocks.
At 8:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 11 points, or
0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 6.25 points, or 0.2% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 71.25 points, or 0.67%.
Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O rose 2% in premarket trading as
Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the network gear maker's
stock to "overweight".
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O fell 5.4% after it
reported a quarterly loss compared with a profit a year earlier,
hurt by non-cash impairment charges of $2 billion as COVID-19
disrupted business at its Boots UK division. The second-quarter earnings season is expected to begin in
earnest next week. Analysts expect profits for S&P 500 companies
to plunge about 44%, the steepest drop since the 2008 financial
crisis, according to IBES Refinitiv data.