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Weekly jobless claims rise more than expected

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Nvidia ( NVDA ) poised to extend gains after overtaking Apple ( AAPL )

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Nio falls after logging Q1 net loss

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Lululemon up on topping quarterly estimates on China

demand

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Futures: Dow down 0.07%, S&P down 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.03%

(Updated at 8:45 a.m. ET/1245 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Johann M Cherian

June 6 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Dow futures edged lower

in choppy trading on Thursday, after jobless claims data

indicated growing weakness in the U.S. labor market, while

Nasdaq futures outperformed as gains in AI-favorite Nvidia ( NVDA )

boosted optimism around the tech sector.

A tech rally on Wednesday drove the S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq to all-time highs, as a string of weakening

economic data boosted bets that the Federal Reserve could start

easing policy sooner than previously expected.

Some megacap stocks retreated, including Meta Platforms ( META )

, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) down between

0.04% and 0.3% in premarket trading. Tech stocks were the main

driver of Wednesday's rally, with the tech sector

gaining nearly 2.6% as Treasury yields eased.

Chip maker Nvidia ( NVDA ) was up 1.3%, after crossing $3

trillion in market valuation in the previous session that saw it

overtake Apple ( AAPL ) as the world's second most valuable company.

Gains in Nvidia ( NVDA ) and other AI-related players have largely

driven Wall Street's rally this year, with the chipmaker

accounting for roughly a third of the S&P 500's over 12%

year-to-date gains.

"There's just a lot of momentum and high sentiment in the

semiconductor space, and while over the intermediate term you'll

need to bring some of that into check, in the near term, those

types of things can really run," said Ross Mayfield, investment

strategy analyst at Baird.

On the data front, jobless claims rose more than expected to

a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended June 1, the

Labor Department said, the latest in a string of reports

indicating tightness in the labor market is reducing, giving the

Federal Reserve more room to cut rates.

The attention has now turned to the crucial nonfarm payrolls

report due Friday.

Traders see a 70% chance of a September rate reduction,

according to the CME's FedWatch tool, and have priced in about

two cuts this year, as per data from LSEG. Forecasters polled by

Reuters also expect two cuts.

Some market participants also pointed to growing pressure

for the Fed with both the European Central Bank and Bank of

Canada beginning easing cycles.

"If you get too much divergences among the major economies,

it can start to put pressure on different pockets of the

economy...it might make something like a (Fed) September cut a

little more obvious," Mayfield said.

At 8:45 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 28 points,

or 0.07%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.06%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.03%.

Among others, Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) leapt 8.7% after

beating expectations for first-quarter profit and revenue on

Wednesday, as its China-based business helped offset slowdowns

in North America.

U.S.-listed shares of Nio dropped 4.7%

after the Chinese electric vehicle maker posted a quarterly net

loss.

Five Below ( FIVE ) slumped 19.9% after the discount store

operator trimmed its annual net-sales forecast.

Trading platform Robinhood Markets ( HOOD ) rose 1.9% after

announcing its biggest-ever deal to buy crypto exchange Bitstamp

for about $200 million in cash.