MW: U.S. stock futures steady before weekly jobless claims
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The lull in markets continued on Thursday in the run-up to the monthly jobs report as U.S. stock futures clung to a tight range, though a report on jobless claims and retail sales reports could spark activity.
S&P 500 futures fell four-tenths of a point to 1,118.00 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell a quarter point to 1,851.70. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were steady.
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday after a late-day drop, as Pfizer reported disappointing results on an Alzheimer's drug and health stocks slipped on President Obama's new call for federal healthcare legislation.
Weekly jobless claims, a day ahead of the February nonfarm payrolls report, will attract attention. Also out Thursday is data on factory orders and pending home sales for January and a final reading of fourth-quarter productivity.
Several retailers will be announcing same-store sales. February sales at stores open at least a year are expected to rise 2.9%, compared against a 4.7% decline a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters, which tallied Wall Street estimates on 28 retailers.
The Bank of England and European Central Bank will be making interest rate decisions, with both seen on hold, and the ECB's press conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern will draw attention as to what it will say about Greece as the heavily indebted country began marketing a 10-year bond.
The last gasps of earnings season include results from Urban Outfitters (URBN 33.40, +0.29, +0.88%) , Wendy's/Arby's (WEN 4.94, +0.01, +0.20%) and Ciena (CIEN 14.55, -0.21, -1.42%) .
Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD 51.40, +0.54, +1.06%) fell in Brussels after reporting a smaller-than-forecast rise in adjusted profit and offering cautious 2010 guidance.
Asian shares ended mostly lower Thursday, with Chinese banking and property shares losing ground a day before the mainland's annual National People's Congress amid concerns about policy tightening.
Europe stocks sagged after four winning sessions in a row.
Oil futures were weaker but held above the $80-a-barrel market, while gold futures slipped $5.90 an ounce.
The dollar index (DXY 80.08, +0.11, +0.13%) rose 0.3% to 80.24.
