U.S. futures higher ahead of economic reports; Dow Jones up 0.18%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. gross domestic product and jobless data later in the day, while concerns over Cyprus's bailout and political instability in Italy continued to weigh.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.26% increase.

Investors remained cautious, as banks in Cyprus re-opened for the first time in almost two weeks, with capital controls in place to prevent a run on banks.

Cypriots will not be allowed to withdraw more than 300 euros a day, cannot cash checks, and cannot take more than 3,000 euros when traveling abroad.

Meanwhile, in Italy, doubts continued over whether a stable coalition government could be formed, fuelling concerns that the country may have to go back to the polls.

Financial stocks were expected to be active, after Citigroup on Wednesday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by Woori Bank over losses from mortgage-related investments.

Separately, a federal judge on Wednesday said JP Morgan must face a lawsuit by a pension plan that accused it of mismanaging its money by investing in Lehman Brothers Holdings notes before the bank filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

Shares in JP Morgan edged up 0.06% in pre-market trade.

In addition, Reuters reported that fifteen major banks sued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency over risky housing debt urged a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to intervene, citing "gravely prejudicial" rulings by the trial judge coordinating the litigation.

The energy sector was also likely to be in focus, Chesapeake Energy rose 0.39% after hours, amid reports the company's search for a new chief executive to replace Aubrey McClendon is likely to extend beyond an April 1 deadline.

Oil and gas major Chevron slipped 0.16% in late trading, after saying on Wednesday that its executive pay would reflect certain incidents in 2012 as well as a financial performance that outpaced the company's peer group.

Elsewhere, cable group Liberty Global said it had bought a 12.65% stake in Dutch cable firm Ziggo for EUR632.5 million.

Also in company news, Clearwire was reportedly planning to notify Sprint Nextel that it will tap another USD80 million of financing in April, as part of its deal with the U.S. wireless carrier. The news sent shares in Sprint Nextel up 2.32% in pre-market trade.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.31%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.19%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.24%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.58%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.74%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.26%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims as well as revised data on fourth quarter economic growth.