LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures inched up Thursday in a market that's struggling to make a new push higher but isn't yielding ground either. S&P 500 futures rose 1.5 points to 1,028.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up three-quarters of a point to 1,637.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8 points. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for the seventh session in a row on Wednesday -- though only by 4 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose fractionally, advancing for the sixth time in seven sessions, helped by upbeat data from the housing market. Citigroup's currency strategists said the market is languishing at the moment. "Despite robust headline data releases, markets moved broadly sideways. This is a reflection of the 'hard' data failing to keep up with expectations-based measures and a sign of market fatigue with the risk rally," they said in a note to clients. Weekly jobless claims and a second report on second-quarter GDP will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect claims to slip to 565,000 and the second-quarter GDP to be revised lower to show a 1.5% contraction from a 1% contraction that the government previously estimated. The Citi strategists also expect a 1.5% contraction. "Higher-frequency data since the release suggest a lower value for investment in residential and non-residential structures while the contribution from inventory changes is also likely to fall substantially," they said. Overseas, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.7% as a Chinese government council expressed concerns about overcapacity in some industries, leading some to conclude that there will be restrictions in areas like steel and cement production. On the corporate front, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 24.55, -0.09, -0.37%) will be in the spotlight after saying it will cut the price of its top-end Xbox 360 Elite games console by $100 to $299.99, starting Friday. In addition, it will cut the price of its Xbox 360 Pro console by $50 to $249.99, while supplies last. The announcement comes a little more than a week after rival Sony (SNE 27.03, +0.19, +0.71%) cut the cost of its PlayStation 3 console by $100 and said it would introduce a redesigned, slimmer model in September. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL 167.41, -1.99, -1.17%) is getting closer to launching its iPhone device in China, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Guess (GES 32.15, +0.75, +2.39%) may rise as the apparel maker said it would raise its quarterly dividend. U.S. builder Toll Brothers (TOL 23.14, +0.83, +3.72%) on Thursday said it lost nearly $500 million in the July-ending quarter, though Chairman and CEO Robert I. Toll said he's finding room for optimism, citing rising signed contracts, growing backlogs, declining cancellations and rising month-on-month house prices. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 seesawed between gains and losses throughout the morning. Oil futures fell slightly, while gold futures rose 20 cents an ounce. Steve Goldstein is MarketWatch's London bureau chief.

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