8:15 a.m. Update: Stock futures traded in a narrow range Thursday ahead of a busy day of economic reports. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in the pre-market. Dow futures rose 14 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 1.5 points.
Reports on initial weekly jobless claims and January factory orders and pending home sales are due out Thursday morning. Retailers are also releasing monthly sales reports. The Labor Department then provides its monthly update to unemployment Friday.
Weekly initial jobless claims data are due at 8:30 a.m. EST. Economists expect the report to show that claims fell by 25,000 to 470,000 last week. Friday's monthly non-farm payrolls report is expected to show a loss of 50,000 jobs in February.
At 10 a.m. EST, data on January factory goods orders are due. Analysts expect a gain of 1.8% from the previous month, nearly double the 1% gain recorded in December.
Pending home sales, also due at 10 a.m. EST, are expected to repeat the 1% increase recorded in December.
Elsewhere, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 3.63% early Thursday compared with late Wednesday.
The dollar mostly rose against other major currencies. Gold prices fell slightly.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.1%. In afternoon trade, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 each shed 0.23%.
