(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures climbed on Thursday after a government release showed that jobless claims declined 4,000 to 570,000 in the week ending August 29.
At 8:32 am ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 5.80 points to 1000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 46 points to 9323. The Nasdaq Composite futures climbed 11 points to 1604.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits declined 4,000 to 570,000 in the week ending August 29. Economists had forecast jobless claims to drop to 564,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, increased 4,000 to 571,250. Continuing claims for the week ending August 22 climbed 92,000 to 6.23 million.
European Union regulators on Thursday launched an antitrust probe into U.S. software maker Oracle Corp.'s (NASDAQ:
ORCL) takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:
JAVA).
Early on Thursday, Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ:
CIEN) reported that it swung to fiscal third quarter loss of $26.5 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $11.7 million, or 12 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 5 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue for the quarter declined to $164.8 million from $253.2 million.
Retailer Macy's (NYSE:
M) announced Thursday that its August same-store sales tumbled 8.1%.
Target (NYSE:
TGT) said that its same-store sales declined 2.9% in August .
Costco Wholesale Corp.(NASDAQ:
COST) said that for August, comparable-store sales fell 2%
Gap Inc. (NYSE:
GPS) reported Thursday that its August sales at stores open at least one year fell 3%.
Family Dollar (NYSE:
FDO) said that its August same-store sales increased 1%.
On the economic front, ISM services index is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
Elsewhere, the European Central Bank left its benchmark rate unchanged at record low of 1%.
US stocks finished down on Wednesday as weaker-tha-expected economic data spurred recovery fears.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 12:56 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 23.73 points or 0.49% to 4,841.28. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.75% and 0.57% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 65.82 points or 0.64% to 10,214.64. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 239.68 points or 1.23% to 19,761.68.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery declined as much as $1.34 or 2% to $69.39 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks discussed here.
