7:30 am by Joyanta Acharjee
U.S. equity markets looked set to open higher Thursday as investors await an announcement from the European Central Bank and a batch of reports on the U.S. labor market.
In pre-market trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% to 13,117 points, the S&P 500 Index was up 9 points to 1,413.15 and the NASDAQ added 17 points to reach 2,785.15.
U.S. stocks ended little changed Wednesday.
The ECB is expected to announce details of a new bond-buying program for euro-area governments in a bid to bring the continent's debt crisis under control. The program is expected to be aimed primarily at Spain and Italy, where bond yields rose to unsustainable levels in July.
Investors will also be paying especially close attention to the Friday jobs report since it will likely influence the 's decision on whether it will announce more quantitative easing at the conclusion of its next meeting.
The government is expected to report Friday that employers added 120,000 jobs in August, according to economists surveyed by CNNMoney.
In corporate news, Amazon () is expected to unveil a new Kindle line Thursday afternoon. Last week the company reported that its Kindle Fire had sold out.
Quiksilver (NYSE:ZQK) is expected to post quarterly earnings of 5 cents per share on $527 million in revenue, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com. Smith & Wesson () is tipped to report earnings of 18 cents a share on $129 million in revenue.
Verifone () is a stock to watch this morning, after reporting fiscal third quarter profit of $0.75 per share, excluding certain items. That was five cents above estimates, but the maker of credit card swipe machines also saw revenues fall short of consensus, as did its current quarter and full year revenue guidance.
Supervalu () will close about 60 underperforming stores in an effort to trim its expenses. The supermarket operator will record $80 to $90 million in closure-related charges for fiscal 2013.
Men’s Wearhouse () is raising its earnings forecast, thanks to higher profit margins and stronger same-store sales. The clothing chain now expects to earn $2.74 to $2.80 per share, up from its prior forecast of $2.70 to $2.78.
On the economic front, ADP's August private-sector employment report is expected to show a gain of 143,000 private-sector jobs, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
The ADP report follows data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on planned job cuts in August.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended September 1 are expected to total 373,000.
The Institute for Supply Management's August edition of its service-sector index is expected to stand at 52.4, down from 52.6 in the month prior.
Commodities
On the NYMEX, crude for October delivery rose 98 cents to $96.34 a barrel while gold futures for December delivery gained $16.70 to $1,713 an ounce.
Europe
European stocks were higher in morning trading with the FTSE 100 adding 0.8%, the DAX rising 1.4% and the CAC 40 gaining 1.1%.
Second-quarter growth in the euro area decreased by 0.2% compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates released by Eurostat. GDP for the eurozone was 0.5% lower than the same quarter last year.
The Bank of England kept U.K. interest rates on hold at 0.5% and held off from more stimulus measures.
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