US Stock Futures Slightly Higher Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless-claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 9 points to 12,583.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.40 points to 1,323.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.50 points to 2,558.00. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.26% to 12,598.55, the S&P 500 index declining 0.44% to 1,324.80 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.68% to 2,874.04. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $110.43 billion. Advance Auto Parts Inc AAP is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.81 on revenue of $2.00 billion. Ross Stores Inc ROST is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.93 on revenue of $2.34 billion. Buckle Inc BKE is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.76 on revenue of $264.29 million. GameStop Corp GME is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.53 on revenue of $2.10 billion. Gap Inc GPS is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.46 on revenue of $3.46 billion. Cato Corp CATO is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.07 on revenue of $267.80 million. Computer Sciences Corporation CSC is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.20 on revenue of $4.10 billion. Bon-Ton Stores Inc BONT is expected to post a Q1 loss at $1.57 per share on revenue of $654.55 million. Dollar Tree Inc DLTR is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.97 on revenue of $1.70 billion. Limited Brands Inc LTD reported a drop in its first-quarter net income and issued a downbeat forecast for the current quarter. Boyd Gaming Corp BYD announced its plans to buy Peninsula Gaming LLC for $1.45 billion. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.56%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.43%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.74% and German DAX 30 index declined 0.55%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.86%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.39% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.15%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.31% and India's Sensex gained 0.27%. Comex gold for June delivery gained $9.10 to $1,545.70 per ounce. The U.S. dollar index rose 0.14% to trade at 81.54.