Business News : Stock futures advance after sell-off

NEW YORK (Business News) - Stock index futures advanced on Thursday, indicating the S&P 500 may bounce from its worst drop in two weeks ahead of data which could help equities decouple from euro zone headlines.

The S&P 500 .SPX fell 1.4 percent on Wednesday, its biggest decline since May 17, as anxiety over the euro zone's fiscal crisis sent investors away from riskier assets and into safe havens such as Treasury bonds. The CBOE volatility index .VIX, a gauge of market anxiety, jumped 14.8 percent, its largest daily gain in almost three months.

European shares steadied, recovering some poise after the previous session's steep losses but were still set for their worst monthly loss since August as concern over Spain's financial problems continued to weigh. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 was up 0.3 percent. .EU

The benchmark S&P index is on pace for its worst monthly decline since September on increasing concern over the euro zone's debt crisis and a spate of tepid domestic economic data.

Investors will look to the ADP employment report and weekl y initial jobless claims for clues on the health of the labor market ahead of Friday's key payrolls report. Economists in a Business News survey expect ADP to show 148,000 jobs were created in May versus 119,000 new jobs in April. Initial claims are expected to show 370,000 new filings, unchanged from last week.

The preliminary estimate for first-quarter gross domestic product will also be eyed. Economists forecast a 1.9 percent annualized pace of growth, compared with a 2.2 percent rate in the advance Q1 estimate.

Equities have been closely linked to the fortunes of the euro, with the 50-day correlation between the currency and the S&P 500 at 0.92. Expectations of an Irish vote in favor of Europe's fiscal pact helped the euro recover from a near two-year low against the dollar.

S&P 500 futures were up 5.5 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates p ricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 62 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11.5 points.

Retailers will be in focus as they report monthly same-store sales results. Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O) reported a four percent rise in comparable sales in May, falling short of analysts' forecasts as a strong dollar hurt the value of its sales overseas.

TiVo Inc (TIVO.O) reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss and forecast another loss for the current quarter as the maker of digital television recorders fights costly legal battles to protect its patents.

Asian shares slid amid concern Spain may fail to rescue its banks due to soaring borrowing costs, compelling it to seek a bailout.