By Abhiram Nandakumar
REUTERS - U.S. stocks were set to open higher on Thursday after two days of losses as investors assessed U.S. economic data and bank earnings reports.
As the reporting season gathers steam, investors will be parsing quarterly results to gauge the impact of a slowing global economy on U.S. companies.
Global stocks rebounded from two days of losses as investors bet the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates until 2016. The Fed has said it will pull the trigger only if it sees signs of a sustainable economic recovery.
Data released on Thursday painted contrasting pictures of the state of the U.S. economy. While consumer prices posted their biggest drop in eight months in September, unemployment benefits fell in the last week.
Goldman Sachs shares fell 1.4 percent to $177.01 premarket after the investment bank reported third-quarter results below expectations, hurt by weak bond trading.
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Citigroup rose 2.7 percent to $52.1 after the third biggest U.S. bank's results beat estimates.
"I think we could be looking at a bumpy mixed positive session," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York, adding that the market could turn as investors digest news through the day.
Third-quarter results from major U.S. banks have been mixed so far, with only Wells Fargo reporting a rise in revenue and income from interest on loans.
The outlook for broader corporate earnings also does not look too bright. S&P 500 companies are expected to report a 4.2 percent decline in third-quarter profit, the biggest in six years, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Wal-Mart's profit warning on Wednesday spooked investors, sparking the stock's biggest single-day loss in 25 years and dragging the overall market lower.
At 8:34 a.m. ET (1234 GMT), S&P 500 e-minis were up 13.25 points, or 0.67 percent, with 198,783 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 33.5 points, or 0.77 percent, on volume of 36,925 contracts. Dow e-minis were up 78 points, or 0.46 percent, with 27,582 contracts changing hands.
Schlumberger, Mattel and Advanced Micro Devices report after the close.
New York Fed President William Dudley and St Louis Fed President James Bullard are scheduled to speak at separate events on Thursday.
Valeant Pharma's U.S.-listed shares sank 9.9 percent to $159.69 after the Canadian drugmaker said it had been subpoenaed by U.S. prosecutors over its drug pricing policies.
Netflix slid 4.7 percent to $105.36 after the video-streaming service said U.S. subscriber additions came in below expectations for the third quarter.
(Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)