* Initial jobless claims among economic data on tap
* FedEx shrs fall after profit misses view
* Futures off: Dow 26 pts, S&P 4.7 pts, Nasdaq 5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Writes through, updates with quote, details, byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on Thursday ahead of a round of economic data that will include a look at the labor market, while FedEx reported profit that was shy of expectations.
Initial jobless claims will be the morning's focus, with the number of people filing expected to rise to 460,000 from 451,000 in the prior week, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT)
Shipping group FedEx Corp
The world's No. 3 software maker Oracle Corp
The data and corporate results could be welcome catalysts to a market that has been stuck at the top of a trading range in recent days.
The S&P 500 has found support at its 200-day moving average around the 1,115 level, but the benchmark index has been unable to pierce the 1,130 threshold, seen as a key resistance level by analysts.
"We really have technicals that are becoming an almost self-fulfilling prophecy," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.
"We'll see if we're going to find something that helps us break out either way. Right now we're trading in a very tight range, and it's hard to know if that's good or bad."
S&P 500 futures
Also on tap on the economic front is the August producer price index, at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), which is forecast to rise 0.3 percent, compared with a 0.2 percent rise in July. The Philadelphia Fed survey, coming at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), is expected to rise to 2 in September from minus 7.7 the month before. [ECI/US]
Hogan noted that early-morning futures trading this week has not been a good indication of the ultimate direction of the day, adding that futures could change course after the data at 8:30 a.m.
Focus was also on the foreign exchange market, where the yen edged up against the dollar and other currencies as Japanese authorities stayed away from the market after their massive yen-selling operation the previous day. [ID:nTOE68F035]
U.S.-listed shares of BHP Billiton
Pier 1 Imports Inc