US Stock Futures Up; All Eyes On Economic Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are waiting weekly jobless claims and sales data from retailers. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 20 points to 12,957.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.80 points to 1,366.20. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 8.25 points to 2,631.25. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.41% to 12,952.07, the S&P 500 index declining 0.47% to 1,365.68 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 0.67% to 2,966.89. Data on weekly jobless claims, personal income and consumer spending for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for February and construction spending for January will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Kroger Company (The)

is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.49 per share on sales of $21.43 billion. Tutor Perini Corporation

is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.75 on revenue of $1.17 billion. Wendy's Co (The)

is projected to report its FQ1 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $609.1 million. Footlocker Inc

is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.51 on revenue of $1.49 billion. Esterline Technologies Corp

is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.46 on revenue of $476.73 million. Castle (A.M.) & Co

is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.12 on revenue of $270.58 million. PetSmart Inc

posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Gross margin for the quarter declined to 30.4%, versus 30.6% in the year-ago period. Finisar Corp

projected FQ4 adjusted earnings of $0.18 to $0.22 per share on revenue of $235 million to $250 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.25 per share on revenue of $253 million. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.41%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.54%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.31% and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.46%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declining 0.16%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.10% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.96%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.35% and India's Sensex declined 0.95%. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.07% to trade at 78.75, versus 78.799 in late North American trading Wednesday. Crude-oil futures for April delivery gained $0.18 to $107.26 a barrel. However, gold futures for April delivery climbed $7.20 to $1,718.50 an ounce.