Stocks poised to roll up again
Alcoa's surprise profit and lower-than-expected jobless claims boost futures.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to gain at Thursday's open, lifted by better-than-expected earnings from Dow component Alcoa and a better-than-expected job market report.
At 8:40 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were higher, picking up momentum after the jobless claims report.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
Stocks stagnated on Wednesday, following two positive sessions.
"We're headed for a higher opening right now," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "Obviously, enthusiasm over earnings is beginning to build. The earnings season is likely to support the market from encountering a major correction."
Cardillo said this "enthusiasm" is being fueled by the lack of negative announcements from companies ahead of earnings, as well as the strong report from Alcoa and surging commodities prices.
Earnings: Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) kicked off the third-quarter corporate reporting period on a rosy note, reporting a surprise profit after U.S. markets closed Wednesday. Alcoa's stock jumped 6% in pre-market trading.
Wall Street had finished Wednesday's session mixed in anticipation of Alcoa's results. Alcoa was the first Dow component to report third-quarter results.
Economy: The Labor Department announced that initial jobless claims dropped to 521,000 in the week ended Oct. 3, compared to the revised tally of 554,000 the prior week. That's the lowest level since the week ended Jan. 3.
The government was expected to announce 540,000 claims, according to a consensus of economist opinion compiled by Briefing.com.
Shortly after the market opens, the Census Bureau is scheduled to release its monthly data for wholesale business inventories. A decline of 1% is expected for the month of August, according to Briefing.com consensus, compared to a decline of 1.4% in July.
Companies: Stocks to watch include tech giant IBM (IBM, Fortune 500). The Justice Department has opened an antitrust inquiry into the company's mainframe business, according to a trade group.
Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) also could be on the move after it said late Wednesday that it was closing a plant and cutting 905 jobs.
World markets: Global indexes rallied. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong both finished in positive territory. European shares rose in midday trading.
Gold, oil and money: Gold hit $1,054 an ounce in electronic trading, rising above Wednesday's record close of $1,044. The dollar continued to slip against major international currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound. The price of oil rose 75 cents to $70.32 a barrel. 
