US Stock Futures Up; Jobless Claims Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 36 points to 12,502.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.80 points to 1,320.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 9 points to 2,549.50. US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.05% to 12,496.15, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.17% to 1,318.86 and the Nasdaq 100 index rising 0.39% to 2,850.12. Data on weekly jobless claims and April durable-goods will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Flowers Foods Inc

is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.28 on revenue of $889.74 million. Toro Co

is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $2.13 on revenue of $676.40 million. H. J. Heinz Company

is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.79 on revenue of $3.07 billion. VeriFone Systems Inc

is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.61 per share on revenue of $471.82 million. Fred's Inc

is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.27 per share on revenue of $500.86 million. Signet Jewelers Limited

is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.91 on revenue of $912.26 million. Tiffany & Co

is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.69 on revenue of $817.45 million. rue21 Inc

is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $204.10 million. NetApp Inc

issued a downbeat profit forecast for the fiscal first quarter. Hewlett-Packard Company

reported upbeat quarterly results and announced its plans to lower 27,000 jobs. Pandora Media Inc

reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results. According to the Munich-based Ifo Institute, German business climate index fell to 106.9 in May, versus 109.9 in April. Private-sector output across the euro zone declined in May, according to the preliminary Markit purchasing managers index for the region. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.46%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.78%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.63% and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.34%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.08%, Chinese Shanghai Composite declining 0.53% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.31%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.64% and India's Sensex surged 1.84%. The HSBC flash PMI for China's manufacturing sector fell to 48.7 in May, versus 49.3 in April. Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.68 to $90.58 a barrel in electronic trade. However, gold futures climbed $12 to $1,560.40. The euro dropped 0.02% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2579. The US dollar dropped 0.13% against the Japanese yen to trade at ¥79.39.