Stocks set for flat open
Futures edge lower as investors balance positive consumer spending news with Exxon Mobil's miss, spike in initial jobless claims.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks futures edged slightly lower early Thursday as investors weighed mixed economic news and lower-than-expected earnings from ExxonMobil.
About a half hour before the market open, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower and pointing to a flat start for Wall Street.
Stocks ended Wednesday's session lower, erasing an earlier advance, after the Federal Reserve lowered rates yet again. The central bank signaled that it may be ready to pause its rate-cutting campaign, but fears of further economic weakness weighed on investors.
Investors got more clues about how the economy is faring after the government released a report on personal income and spending, saying personal income increased 0.3% in March, less than the expected 0.4% increase. But consumer spending rose 0.4% in March, far exceeding the 0.2% increase economists predicted.
Also Thursday morning, the Labor Department reported initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 35,000 to 380,000, far exceeding the expected rise of 18,000.
A report on nationwide manufacturing activity also is on tap for 10:00 a.m. ET.
Oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM, Fortune 500) posted a profit of $10.89 billion in the first quarter, or $2.03 a share, helped by record oil prices. That was sharply higher than a year earlier but short of Wall Street's expectations of $2.14 a share and below what was needed to set a new all-time profit record.
In other major corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) directors met Wednesday to decide on the company's next move in the takeover battle for Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500), but left without reaching a decision, The Wall Street Journal reported.
British Airways said late Wednesday that it is considering ways to have closer ties with AMR (AMR, Fortune 500) unit American Airlines and Continental Airlines (CAL, Fortune 500). British Airways is not allowed to buy a controlling interest in either carrier due to U.S. law on foreign ownership of airlines.
Cablevision (CVC, Fortune 500) is preparing a $650 million offer to buy Newsday from privately-held Tribune Co., according to the New York Times. That bid would be $70 million more than offers by New York Post owner News Corp. (NWS, Fortune 500) and Daily News owner Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the paper said.
Major automakers are set to report U.S. sales Thursday, and forecasts are for another weak month. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), which has already cut second-quarter production due to weak sales, is forecast to see an 8.5% drop in sales compared to April 2007, according to sales tracker Edmunds. Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) sales are expected to fall 6.7%. Privately-held Chrysler LLC could see a 16.7% plunge in sales, while Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are expected to see narrow gains from year-earlier levels
In global trade, numerous markets were closed for a holiday. Japan stocks closed lower. U.K. markets dipped in morning trading. 
