US STOCKS-China data, steadying yuan lift futures

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* Futures up: Dow 0.12%, S&P 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.41%

By Medha Singh
Aug 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures inched higher on
Thursday as better-than-expected Chinese trade data and a
steadying of its currency offered some comfort to investors
rattled by an escalation in trade tensions and signals pointing
to a recession.
The yuan regained some ground even as China's central bank
set its official midpoint below the seven to the dollar
threshold. Exports from the world's second-largest economy
posted a surprise rise, while imports fell less than forecast.
CNY/ The latest data soothed some nerves after the S&P 500 on
Monday posted its steepest percentage fall this year as the yuan
slumped to its lowest in a decade.
Signals from the bond market were ominous as well, with a
closely watched U.S. recession indicator reaching its highest
level since March 2007 on Tuesday.
While the benchmark index has enjoyed a slight relief in the
past two days, it still stands about 5% away from its record
closing high hit last month.
At 6:53 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 32 points, or
0.12% and S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 6.75 points, or 0.23%.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 31 points, or 0.41%.
Shares of Symantec Corp SYMC.O and Advanced Micro Devices
Inc AMD.O bolstered futures for Nasdaq 100. Symantec jumped
12.3% after sources said chipmaker Broadcom Inc AVGO.O is in
advanced talks to buy the cybersecurity company's enterprise
business. AMD gained 5% after the chipmaker released the second
generation of its processor chip for data centers and said that
it had landed Alphabet Inc' GOOGL.O Google and Twitter Inc
TWTR.N as customers. Lyft Inc LYFT.O advanced 5.4% after the ride hailing
service raised its outlook for the year and forecast a faster
path to profitability. Rival Uber Technologies Inc UBER.N , due to report
quarterly results after the bell, rose 4%.
Shares of Walt Disney Co DIS.N rose 1.1% after Credit
Suisse upgraded its shares to "outperform" on positive investor
sentiment as its video streaming service Disney+ closes in on
its U.S. launch.
Shares of CenturyLink Inc CTL.N fell 5.7% after the
telecommunications services provider missed second-quarter
revenue estimates.