US Stock Futures Flat; All Eyes On Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures are flat this morning, ahead of jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 point to 12,654.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.20 points to 1,320.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.50 points to 2,488.00.US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.66% to 12,716.46, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.89% to 1,324.09 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 1.22% to 2,848.27. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke will begin his testimony on the state of the economy to the House Budget Committee after the opening bell.Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.62 per share on sales of $2.99 billion. Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.25 on revenue of $2.14 billion. New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $646.5 million. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $3.91 on revenue of $1.73 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL) is estimated to report its Q4 EPS at $0.15 on revenue of $1.78 billion. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE: HOT) is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.57 on revenue of $1.42 billion. Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $5.5 billion. Dow Chemical Company (The) (NYSE: DOW) is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.30 on revenue of $14.19 billion. Goodrich Corporation (The) (NYSE: GR) is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $1.57 on revenue of $2.13 billion. International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.61 on revenue of $6.50 billion.Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) reported upbeat results for the December quarter. It projects adjusted net revenue in the range of $925 million to $975 million, versus analysts' estimates of $996.3 million. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE: CMG) reported downbeat fourth-quarter profit. European markets were flat today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.07%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.17%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.04% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.14%.Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.76%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 1.96% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.98%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2% and India's Sensex surged 0.76%.The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.21% to 79.01, up from 78.925 in late North American trading on Wednesday.