(Corrects to remove reference to existing home sales data, reported on Friday, not Thursday)
* Chinese equities rebound,
* Weekly jobless claims, eyed
* Futures up: Dow 11 pts, S&P 500 3.5 pts, Nasdaq 1.25 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click STXNEWS/US
(Updates with Sears, Heinz earnings)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday following a rally in Chinese equities and ahead of data expected to show a dip in jobless claims after a surprise increase in the prior period.
A 20 percent fall in Chinese equities over the last two weeks sparked a wave of selling in global markets on fears that prices were too far ahead of the recovery. China's benchmark index <.SSEC> gained 4.5 percent on Thursday, easing some of those fears.
"There are a lot of companies who carefully watch Chinese growth, particularly in the commodities sector. So it has a big impact on how people view stock valuation," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Meckler cautioned, however, that volumes remained light because of the summer season, suggesting trading did not reflect decisions by big-money players.
S&P 500 futures
The consensus of economists is for initial weekly jobless claims to fall slightly to 550,000, a decline of 8,000 from the previous week, when they posted a surprise rise. It was the first upward move in seven weeks as the labor market struggled to stabilize. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. (12:30 GMT).
In Europe, stocks <.FTEU3> rose 1.4 percent, led by oil majors and banks, while Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> climbed 1.8 percent to bounce off a three-week closing low. (For details, see [ID:nLK399206])
In the United States, NetApp Inc
Goldman Sachs added Google Inc
Sears Holding Corp
Oil futures
The bounce in oil prices helped U.S. shares on Wednesday. The big three stock indexes ended up 0.7 percent.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)