Stocks ready to rise again

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street was set for a higher open Thursday after Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner offered reassuring comments about U.S. banks and the government reported a 3-month low in jobless claims.

Also, Wal-Mart reported same-store sales and General Motors posted a quarterly loss that was narrower than expectations.

At 8:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

U.S. stocks surged Wednesday after early reports of the government's so-called stress tests suggested that the major banks are better capitalized than some had thought.

Geithner further reassured investors when he said in a TV interview Wednesday night that none of the 19 banks that were tested are at risk of insolvency.

David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Markets in London, said that "reassuring noises" from Geithner about the financial health of the banks helped to fuel investor sentiment.

Jobless claims: The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims declined to 601,000 in the week ended May 2, a drop of 34,000 claims the prior week. The total was lower than the 635,000 claims expected by economists, according a consensus from Briefing.com, and were at the lowest level since Jan. 24.

But continuing claims increased by more than 50,000, to 6.35 million, the government said.

Dave Rovelli, managing director at Canaccord Adams in New York, said the government's number of jobless claims was significantly lower than expected, but the economy still has a way to go on the road to recovery.

"The initial claims number is trending in the right direction, but it's abnormally high, and continuing claims is still at a record," said Rovelli.

Retailers: A number of retailers were due to release their April same-store sales, and investors will use these results to gauge whether consumers are starting to spend again.

Wal-Mart said that same-store sales excluding gasoline jumped 5% in April, better than the expected increase of 2.8%. The world's biggest retailer credited the increase with Easter-related sales.

Corporate results: General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) reported a quarterly loss of $6 billion, which was better than expected. The automaker also said that sales fell 21% as it burned through $10 billion in the first quarter.

Another ailing behemoth, AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), releases its financial results after the closing bell.

Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) reported a drop in quarterly profit and sales late Wednesday, but the tech bellwether said it sees signs of a turnaround.

Banks: Regulators are due to reveal the results of their stress tests on 19 of the largest U.S. banks after the market close, but there has been a flurry of leaks in the run-up to the official release.

According to reports, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) may need roughly $34 billion in capital while rivals Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) have also been frequently mentioned in recent days as facing capital shortfalls.

World markets: Asian stocks finished the session in positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei soaring nearly 5%. European markets were also higher after a rate cut from the European Central Bank.

Oil and money: The dollar was flat versus the euro, and higher against the yen and the British pound. Oil prices jumped $1.95 a barrel to $57.83.