* China data sparks fears of tightened policy
* Morgan Stanley profit jumps 60 percent
* Futures down: S&P 3.6 pts, Dow 29 pts, Nasdaq 6 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates with quote, Morgan Stanley results)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday after stronger-than-expected economic growth data from China heightened concerns that Beijing may further tighten monetary policy to tackle inflation.
Chinese gross domestic product grew 9.8 percent in the fourth quarter, soaring past forecasts, with inflation slowing less than expected. This may lead the country to take more aggressive steps to quell growth and keep the economy from overheating. For details, see [ID:nTOE70J02S]
"Inflation and the possible responses to it are what's impacting markets today," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.
S&P 500 futures
On the upside, Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley shares were up 1.4 percent at $28.15.
Investors also awaited a flurry of quarterly results from
companies such as Google Inc
Google is expected to report a 22 percent jump in fourth-quarter revenue, though it will face questions about long-term growth. [ID:nN19257256]
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT) and existing home sales for December will come at 10 a.m. EST. (1500 GMT) Economists in a Reuters survey expected jobless claims at 420,000, down from 445,000 last week.
Analysts look for an increase in existing homes sales to 4.85 million from 4.68 million in the prior month.
Shares of networking/cloud computing companies will be in
the spotlight after F5 Networks Inc
EBay Inc