The stock market headed toward a higher start Thursday after investors got some reassurance from Alcoa Inc.'s earnings.

The aluminum maker's $454 million second-quarter loss was smaller than expected, and markets around the world rose on hopes Alcoa is signaling that the worst of the recession is over. The company's shares rose 5 percent in trading before the stock market's official opening Thursday.

Investors are anxious to see companies' earnings reports to determine how strong the economy's recovery is likely to be. A growing pessimism that the recovery might be delayed or extremely weak punctured Wall Street's big spring rally.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 42, or 0.5 percent, at 8,158. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures were up 5.80, or 0.7 percent, at 879.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 6.25, or 0.4 percent, to 1,413.25.

A report on weekly unemployment claims could also help direct trading Thursday. Economists predict that new jobless claims dropped slightly last week, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits changed little.

The Labor Department's tally of new jobless claims is expected to drop by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 605,000, according to a survey of Wall Street economists by Thomson Reuters. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Global markets have been grinding lower over the last week after economic evidence, notably unemployment figures in the U.S. and Europe, suggested any rebound in growth could be feeble and take longer that investors expected.

Overseas Thursday, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.4 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 1.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.7 percent.

Investors are now eager for any news that could reignite the market's climb or suggest how long it might take the economy to recover from the recession that began in December 2007.

Traders are watching June retail sales figures to see if slippage in consumer confidence translated into a weaker take at cash registers. One of the first to report, Costco Wholesale Corp., surpassed analysts' expectations.

Also, investors will get a Commerce Department reading on wholesale inventories Thursday morning. Wholesalers likely reduced their inventories for a ninth consecutive month in May while sales were flat.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect wholesale inventories dipped 1 percent, after a 1.4 percent drop in April that marked the eighth straight monthly decline. Sales at the wholesale level likely were unchanged in May after dipping 0.4 percent in April.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the report at 10 a.m. EDT.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.35 percent from 3.31 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.19 percent from 0.17 percent late Thursday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.