US STOCKS-Futures rise ahead of jobless claims data; drugmakers extend fall

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* Futures up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.36%

By Shreyashi Sanyal
May 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday
ahead of data that is expected to show a decline in weekly
jobless claims, while shares of vaccine makers looked to extend
losses after President Joe Biden's plan to back intellectual
property waivers on COVID-19 shots.
Shares in Pfizer Inc PFE.N , Moderna Inc MRNA.O , Johnson
& Johnson JNJ.N and Novavax Inc NVAX.O , all involved in the
making of COVID-19 vaccines, fell between 0.6% and 5.4% in
premarket trading. The declines were triggered after Biden said he had backed a
World Trade Organization waiver for vaccine intellectual
property to enhance the fight against the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI ended at a record
high in the previous session, supported by a rise in
economically sensitive cyclical stocks, while the Nasdaq was hit
by declines in growth stocks.
Shares of highly valued technology-related stocks, however,
rose on Thursday, with Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O
gaining between 0.1% and 0.3%.
A Labor Department report will likely show initial jobless
claims fell to 540,000 last week from 553,000 in the previous
week.
Investors are awaiting the Labor Department's more
comprehensive non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which is
expected to show accelerating job growth in April.
At 6:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 48 points, or
0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 7.75 points, or 0.19%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 48.75 points, or 0.36%.
Among other companies, International Business Machines Corp
IBM.N rose 0.4% as it introduced what it says is the world's
first 2-nanonmeter chipmaking technology for faster computing.
Uber Technologies Inc UBER.N fell 3.6% as it signaled it
would pay drivers more to get cars back on the road and
disclosed a $600 million charge to provide UK drivers with
benefits.