US STOCKS-Nasdaq futures slide 1% on tech sell-off; jobless claims in focus

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* Futures: Dow flat, S&P down 0.30%, Nasdaq down 1.00%

By Devik Jain
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Futures tracking the Nasdaq index fell 1%
on Thursday, sliding for seven out of the last eight sessions,
as investors rotated out of technology-related stocks into
shares that are poised to benefit from an economic rebound later
in the year.
Focus will be on the Labor Department's weekly jobless
claims report, which is expected to show fewer Americans filed
new claims for unemployment benefits last week.
Apple Inc AAPL.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Microsoft Corp
MSFT.O , Facebook Inc FB.O and Netflix Inc NFLX.O were down
between 0.9% and 1.3% before the bell, as traders were cautious
about heightened valuations.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 1.9% after a media report that the
electric-car maker told workers it will temporarily halt some
production at its car assembly plant in California. U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday with the blue-chip Dow
.DJI hitting record levels as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome
Powell calmed market worries about rising U.S. bond yields and a
potential spike in inflation.
Testifying before the House of Representatives Financial
Services Committee, Powell continued adding weight to the
central bank's promise to get the economy back to full
employment, and to not worry about inflation unless prices begin
rising in a persistent and troubling way. Yields on U.S. Treasury bonds have risen recently,
pressuring technology-related companies as the United States
accelerates its coronavirus vaccination program and plans
further fiscal spending.
The S&P 500 growth index .IGX has risen more than 2.5% in
the month of February, sharply underperforming the value index
.IVX , which has gained nearly 9% on optimism related to a
post-pandemic reopening of the economy.
Citigroup Inc C.N , Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N ,
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Morgan Stanley MS.N , Wells Fargo
& Co WFC.N and Bank of America Corp BAC.N were up between
0.6% and 1.2%, tracking a rise in U.S. 10-year Treasury yields.
At 6:57 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 3 points, or
0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 11.75 points, or 0.3%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 132.75 points, or 1%.
Oil producer Apache Corp APA.O gained 1.3% after it
reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and raised
its spending forecast.