Wall Street looks for early pop
U.S. markets seen opening slightly higher after mild increase in jobless claims, as investors brace for 'quadruple witching.'
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly higher open Thursday, after a government report showed a slight uptick in jobless claims.
But the number of Americans filing for continuing claims declined for the first time since January. Trading will likely be choppy due to the quarterly expiration of options and futures contracts.
At 8:42 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 futures were slightly 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.
Worries about the economic recovery have clouded markets lately. U.S. stocks finished mixed Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed gains but the Dow and S&P slipped. This occurred as President Obama announced sweeping reforms of the financial industry.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners, said that the markets could be headed for another day of mixed trading, ahead of Friday's "quadruple witching," when contracts expire on stock index futures and options, as well as stock options and futures.
"I think the markets certainly are showing no signs of bouncing from the lows set this week," said Cardillo. "I suspect that pre-option trading expiration is going to continue to weigh on stock prices. Unless we get some overly positive economic data, I suspect that the market will encounter more of the same trading."
Economy: A weekly reading on initial jobless claims showed little change from the week before.
Jobless claims rose slightly to 608,000 for the week ended June 13, the government said, from the prior week's revised figure of 605,000.
This isn't much higher than expectations. Claims were expected to be practically flat, at 602,000, from the prior week's unrevised figure of 601,000, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
After the opening bell, a report on leading economic indicators is expected to show an increase of 1% in May, according to Briefing.com consensus, matching the 1% increase from the prior month.
The Philadelphia Fed index, a reading on regional manufacturing, is expected to improve to negative 17 in June from negative 22.6 last month, according to Briefing.com.
Capitol Hill: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will address Congress to detail President Obama's proposals on financial regulatory reform and answer questions.
Companies: Tension is growing between rivals Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). Microsoft claimed Wednesday that a Google application disables a key function in Microsoft's Outlook email program.
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) is due to post quarterly results after U.S. markets close.
World markets: Stocks in Asia finished the session in negative territory. Major European markets were also lower in midday trading.
Money and oil: The dollar dipped against the euro, but rose versus the yen and the British pound. Oil fell 24 cents a barrel to $70.79. 
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