US Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of Jobless Claims

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4 points to 15,436.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.10 points to 1,676.70. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2 points to 3,077.25.US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.12% to 15,470.52, the S&P 500 index rising 0.28% to 1,680.91 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.32% to 3,610.00.Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The general conditions index of the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey for July and the Conference Board's index of leading indicators for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The EIA weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10:30 a.m. ET.International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) reported upbeat second-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year outlook. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) lowered its outlook for the year. AutoNation (NYSE: AN) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $4.33 billion. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $20.74 billion. Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $3.70 billion. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $7.89 billion.Safeway (NYSE: SWY) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $10.45 billion. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.25 per share on revenue of $30.50 billion. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $10.78 per share on revenue of $14.42 billion. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $29.83 billion.Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $1.41 per share on revenue of $8.17 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.61 billion. KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.20 per share on revenue of $1.02 billion. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $11.00 billion.European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.23%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.37%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.36% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.03%.Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 1.32%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.05% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 rising 0.21%. Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index declined 0.12% and India's Sensex gained 0.98%.