NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Nasdaq and S&P futures turned slightly higher early Thursday following the release of June producer price index (PPI) figures that showed a drop in wholesale prices, which soothed concerns that inflation may be on the rise.

But disappointing profit guidance from cellphone maker Nokia could put pressure on technology stocks while investors await results from fellow tech bellwether IBM.

Nokia (NOK: Research, Estimates), the world's largest cellphone maker, posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, but forecast third-quarter profit below analysts' estimates. The company said it expects profits to be under pressure for the balance of the year.

Meanwhile, tech bellwether IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) is expected to report second-quarter results after the close. Analysts are expecting earnings of $1.12 a share, up 16 percent from a year earlier.

Citigroup (C: Research, Estimates), the world's largest financial services company, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit fell, largely because of a big charge to increase reserves for pending lawsuits.

"So far the earnings season is kind of a mixed bag. It's not the catalyst that everyone was expecting it to be. Nokia was disappointing, Apple was positive and Citigroup is in the middle. We're still waiting for IBM," said Larry Wachtel, market analyst with Wachovia Securities.

"The markets will open a little weaker but I don't expect today will be the bellwether day that's going to change the pattern of malaise we're seeing," he added.

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates) rose nearly 8 percent. The computer and personal audio device maker posted quarterly earnings that were triple a year earlier and above analysts' estimates.

Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) tainted the activity Wednesday as investors reacted to the chipmaker's quarterly results and forecast. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.9 percent while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.4 percent.

Investors received a batch of updates on the health of the economy before the start of trading.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Labor Department reported weekly jobless claims numbers, showing that the number of Americans filing for unemployment assistance soared by 40,000 last week. The number came in above expectations, with economists surveyed by Briefing.com expecting initial claims to climb to 340,000 from 310,000 in the prior week.

Also Thursday morning, the Labor Department released the Producer Price Index for June, showing a drop in wholesale prices that countered Wall Street's forecasts for a slight increase. The numbers soothed concerns that inflation may be on the rise.

The report said the June PPI fell 0.3 percent after rising 0.8 percent in May. The so-called core PPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent after rising 0.3 percent in May.

Economists expected to see a 0.2-percent gain in the wholesale price measure, compared with 0.8 percent in May. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, was expected to rise 0.2 percent, compared with 0.3 percent in May

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its measures of industrial production and factory capacity utilization in June. Economists believe industrial output slowed to a 0.1-percent gain, compared with 1.1 percent in May, and that capacity utilization slowed to 77.7 percent from 77.8 percent in May.

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.5 percent. European markets retreated in morning trade. (Check the latest on world markets)

Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.48 percent. The dollar rallied against the yen and euro. Gold was lower.

After a sharp gain Wednesday, oil eased a bit in early trading. U.S. crude pulled back 19 cents to $40.78 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures slipped 55 cents to $37.99 a barrel in London.  

--from staff and wire reports