U.S. futures edge higher, eyes on data; Dow Jones up 0.18%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic data later in the day, while concerns over the country's fiscal policy weighed.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.16% increase.

Markets were jittery amid concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.

But sentiment found some support after Greece’s parliament narrowly approved fresh austerity measures required to secure the next installment of bailout funds late Wednesday, but the measures were likely to exacerbate the country’s recession.

Tech stocks were expected to be active, after Qualcomm, the largest seller of mobile-phone chips, forecast sales and profit that beat projections, sending shares climbing 7.33% in pre-market trade.

Activision Blizzard was also higher pre-market, with shares up 2.34%, after the biggest U.S. video-game maker reported better- than-estimated earnings.

The company posted a 53% increase in third-quarter net income to USD226 million and said it expects fourth-quarter sales, excluding changes in deferred revenue, to reach USD2.41 billion.

Concur Technologies plunged 6.87% after hours on the other hand, although the company reported on Wednesday a narrower loss for the fourth quarter, helped mainly by a healthy revenue growth.

The company also provided an outlook for the first quarter as well as the full-year 2013, which are currently above analysts' expectations.

Consumer goods companies were also likely to be in focus, Whole Foods Market tumbled 1.49% in early trading, even as fiscal fourth-quarter earnings grew 49% as the natural-foods supermarket posted stronger same-store sales and margins.

Meanwhile, Mondelez, the snacks business separated from Kraft Foods Inc., saw shares drop 0.95% in after-hour trade, as it forecast profit for its next fiscal year that trailed analysts’ estimates after “executional missteps” in Brazil and Russia.

Other stocks in focus included Walt Disney and Duke Energy, due to report results later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.72%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.42%, Germany's DAX rose 0.58%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.24%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.41%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index declined 1.51%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on the trade balance as well as the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.