U.S. futures edge higher, eyes on data; Dow Jones up 0.17%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures edged higher on Thursday, as investors eyed the release of a string of U.S. economic data later in the day while concerns over the worsening of the debt crisis in the euro zone persisted.  
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.17%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.21% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.26% gain.

Market sentiment was sharply hit on Wednesday after data showed that euro zone manufacturing activity slumped to a 34-month low in April, while the unemployment rate in the bloc climbed to a record 10.7% in March.

In addition, U.S. data showed that the private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, far short of expectations for a gain of 177,000. It was the smallest increase in ADP nonfarm payrolls since September 2011.

Markets were also eyeing the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting later in the day, amid ongoing concerns over elevated borrowing costs for vulnerable peripheral nations, particularly Spain.

Whole Foods Market was expected to be active as shares surged 4.38% in pre-market trade after the supermarket chain said late Wednesday that second-quarter profit jumped nearly 31% on stronger sales at its chain of natural and organic grocery stores.

The company also raised its full-year outlook after the results.

Costco Wholesale Corp was also likely to be in focus after posting a 4% rise in comparable sales in April, falling short of analysts' forecasts as the strong dollar depressed the value of its overseas sales.

In the tech sector, Symantec Corp. saw shares rise 0.91% in after hour trading as the world’s biggest seller of security software gave a forecast for fiscal first- quarter sales and profit that was in line with analysts’ reduced estimates amid weak spending on its data-storage products.

On the downside, Novatel Wireless Inc. plummeted 8.19% in late trading on Wednesday following an announcement by chairman and CEO Peter Leparulo saying that “first quarter results reflect a significant improvement over the comparable quarter in 2011, and represent a solid start towards our 2012 business objectives.”

Meanwhile, Chesapeake Energy gained 1.31% in pre-market trade, following a more than 14% dive on Wednesday, after the group reported disappointing earnings and a media report raised a new potential conflict of interest involving its CEO.

Reuters reported that for at least four years CEO Aubrey McClendon ran a private hedge fund that traded in contracts for oil and natural gas, which are commodities that Chesapeake produces. The report suggests that running the hedge fund could have influenced McClendon decisions at Chesapeake.

Other stocks in focus included AIG, Kraft Foods, First Solar and Cigna, due to announce results later in the day.

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Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.49%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.29%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.16%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.55%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.5%, while markets in Japan remained closed for the Golden Week holiday.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector growth.