* U.S. weekly jobless claims rise unexpectedly
* Growth in euro-zone manufacturing slows in Sept
* Futures down: S&P 11.1 pts, Dow 84 pts, Nasdaq 13.50 pts (Updates with jobless claims data)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a sharply lower open on Thursday after weekly claims for jobless benefits jumped unexpectedly, highlighting continued weakness in the labor market and rattling investors.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 465,000, the Labor Department said, breaking two straight weeks of declines. Analysts had expected the numbers to remain unchanged.
"They confirm there is not going to be an expansion in employment for the foreseeable future. We have an unemployment rate that is stubbornly high, that breaks with the tradition in terms of being any sort of sustainable growth," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey.
"The Fed's outlook confirmed the prospect of a very anemic rebound and really, flagging production, flagging demand domestically," Kenny said. "These numbers really speak to that in a very clear way. They couldn't be more spot-on in terms of speaking to an economy that is just barely hanging on to razor thin gains."
Investors were doubtful about the state of the economy in the euro zone after data showed the pace of growth in the region's services and manufacturing sectors slowed more than expected this month.
S&P 500 futures fell 11.1 points and were below 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 dropped 84 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 13.50 points.
U.S. stocks slipped on Wednesday, ending the Dow's five-day winning streak after the Federal Reserve spoke cautiously about the economy and hinted at the possibility of further quantitative easing to spur economic activity.
Existing home sales data for August is due later in the session at 10 a.m.. Analysts forecast home sales rose to 4.10 million units from 3.83 million in the previous month.
Video rental chain Blockbuster Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday after years of struggling to compete with online and mail-order movie services. It said a majority of senior noteholders agreed to support its recapitalization, cutting debt to about $100 million from nearly $1 billion.
Red Hat Inc will be in focus after reporting on Wednesday a fiscal second-quarter profit above Wall Street forecasts, as sales of its software rose sharply. The stock rose 6 percent to $38.95 in premarket trade.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc also reported results that beat quarterly profit and sales estimates. It boosted its full-year forecast, sending the stock up 4.2 percent at $43.80 in premarket trade.
Starbucks Corp said it planned to charge more for large-sized and labor-intensive drinks because of surging prices for coffee and other commodities.