Stocks set to gain, but losing momentum

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open higher Thursday, buoyed by the Federal Reserve's economic outlook, but lost momentum in the face of an unexpected decline in retail sales and an increase in jobless claims.

At 8:45 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were higher, but the gains were a fraction of their earlier strength.

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

"It looks like the recession is over," said Len Blum, a managing director at Westwood Capital, referring to Wednesday's statement from the Federal Reserve, before the retail numbers came out. "But the question is: What's the recovery going to look like? I think it's a flatline recovery. I think a long-term rally is going to be unsustainable."

World markets: Wall Street looked set to track global markets, which advanced after Germany and France both pulled out of their recessions. Both posted unexpected GDP growth for the second quarter.

Fed: The better-than-expected readings out of Europe came a day after the Fed said the long decline for the U.S. economy appears to have ended. The central bank said the economy was "leveling out."

Retail: But the latest data on retail sales could cast gloom over Thursday trading.

Retail sales slipped 0.1% in July, which was much worse than expected. While this decrease was mild, economists were expecting an increase. Economists pooled by Briefing.com expected July gains of 0.7%, compared to June gains of 0.8%.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500) reported that its same-store sales slipped 1.2% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2010. But the retailer said its profit, of 88 cents per share, was at the top end of its forecast.

Economy: The U.S. government said that initial jobless claims increased in the week ended Aug. 8, contrasting with expectations of a decrease. Jobless claims totaled 558,000 that week, an increase of 4,000 from the prior week. A consensus of economists compiled by Briefing.com had forecasted 545,000 claims for the week.

Money and oil: The dollar slipped versus the yen, the euro and the British pound. The price of oil jumped $1.86 a barrel to $72.02.