US STOCKS-Futures fall on stalling economic rebound, stimulus impasse

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* Walgreens rises on 2021 profit growth forecast
* Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rise in latest week
* Big Tech stocks slip in premarket trading
* Futures down: Dow 1.2%, S&P 1.3%, Nasdaq 1.6%

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By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dropped on
Thursday as an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims
exacerbated fears of a stalling economic recovery a day after
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dashed hopes for more fiscal
aid before the election.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a
seasonally adjusted 898,000 for the week ended Oct. 10, compared
to 845,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on
Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 825,000
applications in the latest week. Hopes of another round of fiscal aid to support the domestic
economy helped fuel Wall Street's recent rally, bringing the S&P
500 and Nasdaq earlier this week to within 2% of their record
closing highs on Sept. 2.
"It's been a kind of roller coaster as the market seems to
be taking cues mostly from the stalled stimulus plan and
concerns about fourth-quarter earnings if we don't get
additional stimulus after the vote," said Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at National Securities in New York.
With less than 20 days to Election Day, President Donald
Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will hold dueling
prime-time town halls on Thursday instead of their second
presidential debate, which was canceled after Trump declined to
take part in a virtual matchup. Focus is also on the quarterly earnings scorecard for
corporate America, with expectations for third-quarter earnings
improving to an 18.9% drop from a 25.0% tumble forecast on July
1, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Morgan Stanley MS.N reported a better-than-expected
quarterly profit, winding up results from major big U.S.
lenders. However, its shares fell 1.8% in premarket trading.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.N gained 1.6% as the
drugstore chain forecast profit to grow in single digits in 2021
after posting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
At 8:34 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 341 points,
or 1.2% and S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 44 points, or
1.26%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 195.5 points, or
1.63%, as high-flying stocks such as Apple Inc AAPL.O and
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O fell 2.2% and 1.9%.
Shares of drug developer Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc VRTX.O
sank 12% after it discontinued its trial of a protein deficiency
disorder treatment.