After showing a strong upward move in the previous session, stocks could see some further upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 7 points.
The markets may benefit from a positive reaction to the Labor Department's report on initial jobless claims in the week ended January 28th, which showed that jobless claims fell by more than anticipated.
The report showed that jobless claims dipped to 367,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 379,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 370,000 from the 377,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The bigger than expected drop in jobless claims has generated some optimism about Friday's monthly employment report. Nonetheless, trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of the closely watched jobs data.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report showing a slightly smaller than expected increase in labor productivity in the fourth quarter. At the same time, the report showed a bigger than expected increase in unit labor costs.
Trading could also be impacted by remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is due to testify before the House Budget Committee.
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