Investing.com – Wall Street was set to open slightly higher on Thursday as investors eyed data and earnings releases later in the day after closing in the negative on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 futures rose two points or 0.08% to 2,752.75 as of 6:51 AM ET (11:51 GMT) while Dow futures increased 20 points or 0.08% to 25,371.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up over five points or 0.08% to 6,682.75.
Markets closed in the negative on Wednesday amid concern that China could stop purchasing U.S. bonds. China is the largest holder of Treasury bills. The S&P 500 closed at 2,748.23, the Nasdaq composite finished at 7,153.57 while the Dow Jones industrial average was down to 25,369.13.
Investors are looking ahead to economic data and the start of earnings season. Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) is set to release its financial results before the morning bell. In economic news, jobless claims come out at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT), along with producer price index (PPI) data.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) was among the top movers in pre-market trading, rising 1.17% while Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) inched up 0.16% and power system solutions firm Digital Power Corporation (NYSE:DPW) surged 11.11%.
Meanwhile Eastman Kodak Co (NYSE:KODK) slumped 14.02% after rising 57.35% on Wednesday amid news that the firm was creating its own cryptocurrency. Barclays (LON:BARC) PLC ADR (NYSE:BCS) fell 1.66% while movie theater subscription service Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) slipped 5.56% and Micro Focus International PLC ADR (NYSE:MFGP) lost 0.82%.
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 18 points or 0.14% while in France the CAC 40 was flat and in London, the FTSE 100 rose eight points or 0.11%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was down two points or 0.06% while Spain’s IBEX 35 lost six points or 0.06%.
In commodities, gold futures inched up 0.01% to $1,319.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures surged 0.60% to $63.95 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rallied 0.12% to 92.22.