US Stock Futures Slightly Higher Ahead Of Weekly Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 11 points to 13,035.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.70 points to 1,409.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.75 points to 2,638.25. US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.64% to 13,034.49, the S&P 500 index rising 0.16% to 1,409.28 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.77% to 2,973.70. Data on latest weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Smithfield Foods SFD is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $3.30 billion. UTi Worldwide UTIW is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.25 on revenue of $1.22 billion. Titan Machinery TITN is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.65 on revenue of $512.76 million. Esterline Technologies ESL is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $1.60 on revenue of $523.70 million. Layne Christensen Co LAYN is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.40 on revenue of $295.49 million. H&R Block HRB is expected to post a Q2 loss at $0.40 per share on revenue of $130.47 million. Lululemon Athletica LULU is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.37 on revenue of $305.05 million. Broadcom BRCM lifted the lower end of its Q4 revenue forecast. Sigma Designs SIGM posted a wider-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss. Synopsys SNPS reported a 27% drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.53%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.20%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.46% and German DAX 30 index rose 1.01%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.81%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.13% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.27%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.09% and India's Sensex climbed 0.49%. Nymex crude oil futures gained $0.22 to trade at $88.10 a barrel, while gold futures rose $1.10 to $1,694.90 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.05% to trade at 79.78, down from 79.886 in North American trade late Wednesday.