NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The aftermath of the surprise Comcast bid for Disney, Alan Greenspan's second day of testimony before Congress and some economic reports will get investors' attention when U.S. stock markets open Thursday.

At 8:55 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a slightly lower start for the major indexes.

Wednesday's Comcast (CMCSA: Research, Estimates) bid drew oohs and aahs from Wall Street, concern from regulators and legislators, and quiet from its $54 billion target. Now, the question is whether Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) will be able to fend off the unwanted suitor, either by itself or with the help of another company. The bid also raised the possibility that there are more potential deals in the offing.

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Disney was up 1.6 percent early Thursday.

Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan is back on Capitol Hill, and he's expected to tell the Senate Banking Committee exactly what he told a House panel Wednesday -- that the economy is recovering, that interest rates can stay low for a bit, and the budget deficit could be a long-term problem.

For details of Wednesday's gains, click above.

Greenspan's testimony and the Comcast-Disney buzz helped push the Dow Jones industrial average up 1.2 percent Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite index gained a more modest 0.7 percent (see chart for details).

Asian-Pacific stocks ended higher Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1 percent. European markets rose in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.03 percent. The dollar was flat against the yen and a little stronger versus the euro.

Brent oil futures pulled back 20 cents to $29.60 a barrel in London, where gold rallied above $410 an ounce.

Among the economic reports released before the open Thursday was the retail sales report for January. The government said sales fell 0.3 percent, but excluding autos, sales increased 0.9 percent.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect no change in the monthly figure, compared with a 0.2 percent rise in December.

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Also released before the open was the weekly jobless claims report. For the week ended Feb. 7, initial claims increased to 363,000 from a revised 357,000 in the last week of January. Economists expected jobless claims to come in at 345,000.

Two other reports expected Thursday are business inventories for December, projected to have risen the same 0.3 percent as in November, and the Treasury budget for January, seen showing a $2.3 billion surplus after a $10.6 billion surplus the month before.

After the markets close, Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) issues its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Analysts surveyed by First Call see the PC maker's earnings rising to 28 cents a share from 23 cents a year earlier.