* Motorola, Exxon rise after quarterly results
* Initial claims fall unexpectedly, boosting futures
* Futures up: S&P 6.3 pts, Dow 50 pts, Nasdaq 9.75 pts (Recasts, adds details, quote)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on Thursday, boosted by a lower dollar and data showing new jobless claims fell to their lowest level in three months.
Futures firmed significantly as new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. Investors also took in the latest round of corporate earnings. Among those reporting, shares of Motorola Inc jumped more than 5 percent, while Exxon Mobil Corp gained nearly 1 percent.
"A couple of months ago we started seeing improvement in numerous gauges of employment, and we're slowly getting that confirmation from data that's been coming out," said Steve Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The greenback eased as a short-covering rally ran out of steam. Equities and the dollar have developed an inverse relationship, exacerbated by expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce another round of quantitative easing next week.
S&P 500 futures rose 6.3 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 50 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 9.75 points.
Stocks fell Wednesday as investors dialed back expectations of how aggressively the Fed would act to stimulate the economy.
Anticipation of a Fed move has been a driver of market action of late as investors speculated over the size and time frame of further stimulus. Analysts said even with the day's earnings reports and data, the potential Fed move remained in the forefront.
Most leading economists expected the Fed to buy between $80 billion and $100 billion worth of assets per month under a new program to bolster the struggling economy, a Reuters poll found.
Motorola gained 5.4 percent to $8.53 after reporting its mobile devices business posted a profit. Dow component Exxon added 0.9 percent to $66.25 as its earnings beat expectations.
On the downside, 3M Co fell 2.6 percent to $88 after it shaved 6 cents off its full-year profit forecast.