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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open higher on Thursday, boosted by Alcoa's lighter-than-expected loss, but showed little reaction to the weekly jobless numbers, which were lower than expected.

At 8:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were all positive.

Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance. They can be used as a forecast for trading after the bell, but they're not always an accurate harbinger.

Wednesday, stocks managed to largely recoup losses, with the Dow tacking on 15 points by the end of the day. The S&P 500 index lost 1 point, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was unchanged.

After a 40% run-up off March 9 lows, Wall Street has taken a step back. Investors are concerned that the recovery will be slow and protracted. A weaker-than-expected June jobs report, released last week, set the dour mood. Investors are taking a cautious stance as the quarterly financial reporting 'season' gets underway.

"It looks like Alcoa is ushering in a less-worse-than-expected earnings [season,]" said Len Blum, managing director at Westwood Capital LLC.

Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) was the first Dow component up to bat and it posted a smaller-than-expected loss, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading Wednesday. Analysts are largely expecting mostly dismal reports but investors will be hoping for some positive forecasts to help spur a sustained turnaround.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co., said that futures are also being bolstered by strong car sales in China, because that could have a positive impact on the U.S. automakers and supporting industries.

Economic reports on tap: The Labor Department reported that 565,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ended July 4. This was significantly lower than the 617,000 claims from the week prior. It was also lower than the 603,000 claims that were forecast by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

May wholesale inventories are expected to have fallen 1% after dropping 1.4% in the previous month. The Commerce Department report is expected to show that inventories plunged for a ninth straight month.

The nation's chain stores will release sales figures for June throughout the morning.

In Washington: The House Financial Services committee holds a morning hearing on reinvesting bank bailout money.

In the afternoon, a House Financial Services subcommittee debates expanding the Federal Reserve's role as a risk regulator.

Global markets: Asian markets closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei giving up 1.38%. European markets were positive in midday trading.

Oil and money: The price of oil rose 97 cents to $61.11. The dollar was falling against the euro but rising versus the Japanese yen.

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