Stocks poised to rebound
Recovery in several global markets and some better-than-expected chain-store sales readings lift futures.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared set for a rebound Thursday amid signs of stabilization in global markets and some encouraging retail sales activity.
Less than an hour before the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq 100 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures pointed to a higher open.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
Stocks have declined over the last three sessions amid ongoing concerns that the market rally may have outpaced any recovery. Trading activity this week has been light however as Wall Street enters a three-day holiday weekend.
"It's been a slow period going into Labor Day," said Todd Leone, managing director at Cowen & Co. "I think people are waiting after the holiday to see what the market is going to do."
Economy: Investors appeared encouraged by initial August sales figures published Thursday by a few chain retailers. Costco (COST, Fortune 500) and Limited Brands, which owns Bath & Body Works and other specialty chains, reported declines in sales that were better than analysts were anticipating.
Some teen retailers, including Hot Topic (HOTT), posted disappointing results.
In employment news, the number of workers filing for jobless benefits declined last week, falling 4,000 to 570,000, the Labor Department said.
Also on tap is a reading on service activity from the Institute for Supply Management, which is due out at 10 a.m. ET.
Companies: News of corporate dealmaking also provided a lift to futures, as Japan's Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma unveiled plans to buy U.S. drugmaker Sepracor (SEPR) for about $2.6 billion, the companies said Thursday.
Brazilian meat producer JBS SA will reportedly make a $2.5 billion bid for Texas' Pilgrim's Pride (PPC), according to the Wall Street Journal.
In other corporate news, European antitrust regulators announced plans Thursday to investigate Oracle's (ORCL, Fortune 500) $7 billion bid for computer maker Sun Microsystems (JAVA, Fortune 500), citing competition concerns.
And Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) YouTube may offer online movie rentals for a fee, according to several news reports.
The video site is said to have held talks with many studios, including Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500), as is CNNMoney.com.
World markets: Stocks around the world were in recovery mode. In Asia, China stocks rose but Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend and ended the session in negative territory. Major European markets were midday Thursday.
In currency trading, the dollar was lower against the euro and the yen.
And oil prices recovered following Wednesday's decline, as crude gained 93 cents to $68.98 a barrel.
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