U.S. futures rise ahead of BoE, ECB statements; Dow Jones up 0.11%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as markets awaited policy decisions by both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, later in the day.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% gain.

The ECB was expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday, but markets were awaiting remarks by President Mario Draghi amid wariness that he could express concerns over the impact of the euro’s recent gains on the region’s economic recovery.

On Wednesday, a German government spokesman said the single currency was not overvalued and that exchange rate policy was not an appropriate way to increase competitiveness.

The comments came after French President Francois Hollande called for a targeted exchange rate on Tuesday.

The media sector was expected to be active, after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp on Wednesday reported higher quarterly revenue and profit on strong growth at its cable assets, including its Regional Sports and FX networks.

Pharmaceutical companies were also likely to be in focus, as CVS Caremark said it bought Drogaria Onofre, Brazil's eighth-largest drugstore chain, marking the first time the drugstore and pharmacy services company has ventured outside the U.S.

In the tech sector, Michael Dell and his investment firm are reportedly putting up USD750 million in cash toward the USD24.4 billion purchase of Dell Inc.

In addition, chipmaker TriQuint Semiconductor forecast current-quarter results below analysts' estimates, sending shares down 7.87% in after-hour trade.

Elsewhere, Herbalife disclosed more information on Wednesday about how much its U.S. distributors earn, looking to provide more clarity as it defends its business model from critics. Shares climbed 0.59% pre-market.

Other stocks in focus included Coca-Cola, Hasbro, Philip Morris International and Sprint Nextel, all due to report earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.54%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.27%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.39%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.06%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 0.93%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims.