* Jobless claims rise more than expected
* Euro slips as ECB fails to signal increase in purchases
* Goldman Sachs sees S&P 500 at 1,450 by end of 2011
* Futures up: Dow 13 pts, S&P 2.2 pts, Nasdaq 4.75 pts (Adds jobless claims data, reaction to ECB)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open little changed on Thursday as bets on a stronger U.S. economy were offset by disappointment over unmet expectations of bond purchases from the European Central Bank.
U.S. retailers reported higher-than-expected sales for November, confirming a strong start to the holiday shopping season that could help determine whether the economic recovery has legs. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF rose 0.5 percent in early trading.
"Retail sales are positive. Some of the numbers coming in are really far above consensus, and that's a good thing," said Oliver Pursche, president at Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York.
But the euro, which has traded in tandem with U.S. equities lately, slipped versus the U.S. dollar after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet disappointed investors who hoped for an increase in its bond purchase program.
"It seems that the euro weakened on (Trichet's) comments, and the futures only dropped because the euro did," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at BTIG LLC in New York.
S&P 500 futures rose 2.2 points and were flat in terms of 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 13 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.75 points.
The Dow and the S&P 500 scored their biggest gains in three months Wednesday as optimism over efforts to resolve the EU's debt crisis helped push the S&P above 1,200.
If the S&P 500 continues to hold above the 1,200 level, the market uptrend will see strong resistance in the 1,225-1,230 area that coincides with a recent two-year high and the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the benchmark's slide from October 2007 to March 2009, a key technical indicator. The S&P closed at 1,206.07 on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs forecast the S&P 500 will close 2011 at 1,450, boosted by positive earnings amid a steadily rising U.S. economy. It also upgraded the financials, energy and consumer discretionary sectors.
New jobless claims rose more than expected last week, but a drop in the four-week moving average to a fresh two-year low continued to point to an improvement in the labor market.
U.S. President Barack Obama's top economic advisers will resume negotiations with congressional leaders on Thursday, hoping to break a deadlock over tax rates.
In company news, PepsiCo Inc agreed to buy Russian juice and dairy producer Wimm-Bill-Dann. Wimm-Bill-Dann shares jumped 30.4 percent to $31.95 in premarket trading.
American International Group Inc shares could get attention after Reuters reported the insurer could receive at least three separate bids for its Taiwan unit.