US STOCKS-Futures climb on Washington optimism

* Chevron warns on Q3 earnings

* Initial jobless claims data on tap

* JPMorgan to sell physical commodities business

* Indexes up: Dow 130 pts, S&P 16.4 pts, Nasdaq 28.75 pts

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday as investors were encouraged by signs of a thaw in the fiscal negotiations in Washington.

* According to a Republican leadership aide, U.S. House of Representatives Republicans are considering agreeing to a short-term increase in the government's borrowing authority, keeping a possible default after Oct. 17 at bay and buying time for negotiations on broader policy measures.

* Investors await weekly initial jobless claims data, one of the few government data points being released during the shutdown now in its tenth day. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 310,000 new filings compared with 308,000 in the prior week.

* The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Wednesday on early signs of a possible break in the impasse between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, but the Nasdaq closed lower for a third day as investors continued to sell this year's high-flying tech stocks such as Facebook Inc (NasdaqGS: FB - news) and Amazon.com Inc.

* The Nasdaq technology sector has shed 2.8 percent over the last three sessions, its biggest three-day drop since late June.

* S&P 500 futures rose 16.4 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 (DJI: ^DJI - news) industrial average futures gained 130 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 28.75 points.

* Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, warned on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings would be lower than in the second quarter due to "significantly lower" earnings from its refining division as fuel margins were squeezed.

* S&P 500 companies due to report earnings after the close include Micron Technology Inc (NasdaqGS: MU - news) and Safeway Inc (NYSE: SWY - news) .

* JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM - news) has launched the sale of its physical commodities business, circulating offering documents to potential buyers and valuing the assets at $3.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

* European shares rose and Japanese stocks moved to a one-week high on signs of progress to end the fiscal stalemate in Washington.