Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures extended

gains on Thursday as retail sales data for July indicated

resilient consumer spending, allaying fears of an imminent

recession in the world's biggest economy.

A Commerce Department report showed retail sales rose 1% in

July, compared with 0.3 growth expected by economists polled by

Reuters.

Separately, a Labor Department report showed the number of

Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits came

in at 227,000 for the week ended Aug. 10, compared with an

estimate of 235,000.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 249 points, or

0.62%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 30.75 points, or 0.56%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 124.5 points, or 0.65%.