Stocks poised for higher start
Futures hold higher on J.C. Penney, Blockbuster results, despite jump in weekly jobless claims.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock futures were higher Thursday as better-than-expected results from retailer J.C. Penney and video rental chain Blockbuster offset a weak reading on the U.S. job market.
Less than an hour before the open, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher and pointing to a positive start on Wall Street.
Jobs weak again. Investors digested the latest unemployment reading before the opening bell, the first in a string of of economic readings due out Thursday. Weekly jobless claims rose slightly more than expected by 6,000 last week, suggesting further weakness in the job market.
Wall Street will also be watching a key regional manufacturing reading by the Philadelphia Fed and April's industrial production numbers.
Stocks finished Wednesday's session higher, helped by a better-than-expected inflation report, but gains were slim.
In earnings news, department store operator J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) saw its first-quarter results cut in half, due to slower consumer spending. The results, however, were not bad as some analysts had feared.
Video rental chain Blockbuster (BBI, Fortune 500), which has been seeking to buy Circuit City (CC, Fortune 500), reported lower profits, although they came in better than anticipated.
Kohl's (KSS, Fortune 500) and Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500) are set to report after the closing bell. Investors will be looking for clues about how consumers are holding up amid the economic downturn.
Other companies to watch Thursday include CNET Networks (CNET). CBS Corp. (CBS, Fortune 500) announced before the opening bell it plans to acquire the media company for about $1.8 billion. CNET shares surged 43% in premarket trading.
In other corporate news, activist investor Carl Icahn reportedly plans to launch a battle to unseat Yahoo's board, with the aim of getting the company to restart deal talks with Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500).
General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) plans to sell its appliance division, according to a published report. The sale of the unit could bring in between $5 billion and $8 billion, the Wall Street Journal said.
Oil prices headed higher in electronic trading. U.S. crude for June rose $1.08 to $125.30 a barrel.
The dollar fell against a number of major currencies, including the euro and the yen.
Overseas markets. In global trade, stocks in Asia finished mostly higher. European markets were mixed in midday trading. 
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