* UPS profit tumbles 43 pct
* Jobless claims, leading indicators on tap
* Futures: Dow up 17 pts, S&P 500 up 0.20, Nasdaq off 2.50
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Thursday ahead of leading indicator and jobless data and a slew of big corporate earnings reports, including UPS, Amazon.com, 3M, Dow Chemical and Merck.
China's economic growth picked up last quarter as expected, but the growth rate fell short of more optimistic forecasts. For details, see [ID:nSP452724]
Travelers Cos Inc
Other Dow components reporting earnings included AT&T Inc
United Parcel Service Inc
McDonald's Corp
The Labor Department is to release first-time claims for jobless benefits at 8:30 a.m. EDT [1230 GMT]. Economists forecast 515,000 in new filings versus 514,000 in the prior week.
The Conference Board is to report on leading economic indicators for September at 10 a.m. [1400 GMT]. Economists look for a 0.8 percent rise compared with a 0.6 percent increase in August.
"The market has risen a bit from the low, and it can't be supported on just these earnings surprises," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
"It really needs revenue growth and not just cost cutting, and for that you need better economic conditions."
S&P 500 futures
Other key companies to report include American Express Co
Microsoft Corp
European stocks were broadly lower early Thursday, with
Ericsson's
Asian shares also fell amid disappointment over the China economic data, but the dollar gained some respite as an expected shift to higher-yielding currencies failed to materialize. [ID:nLM637567]
China's economic growth picked up last quarter as expected, but the growth rate fell short of more optimistic forecasts. For details, see [ID;nSP452724]
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, hurt by a late sell-off in
financial issues after an influential bank analyst recommended
unloading Wells Fargo & Co
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 92.12 points, or 0.92 percent, to end at 9,949.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 9.66 points, or 0.89 percent, to 1,081.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 12.74 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,150.73.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)