NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were headed for gains Thursday, although optimism eased slightly after three key economic reports.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher ahead of the opening bell, although they declined slightly after the 8:30 a.m. ET reports. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.
Stocks rallied Wednesday as investors bet that the Fed will announce plans next month to resume large-scale purchases of Treasurys.
Economy: Initial jobless claims rose to 462,000 in the latest week from a revised 449,000 the week before, the Labor Department said.
The government's latest reading on inflation at the manufacturing level rose 0.4% in September, matching the pace in August. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PPI rose 0.1%, also the same rate as the month before.
The U.S. trade balance widened to $46.3 billion in August from a revised $42.6 billion in July, the Commerce Department said.
Companies: Shares of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) shot up more than 11% in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported AOL is considering teaming up with private-equity firms to make a bid for the search engine.
World markets: European markets were mixed in mid-day trading. Germany's DAX rose 0.6%, while the CAC 40 in Paris inched up 0.2% and the FTSE 100 fell 0.1%.
In Asia, stocks closed in positive territory. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.7% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei edged higher 1.9%.
Commodities and Currencies: The dollar fell against major international currencies including the British pound, the Japanese yen and the euro.
The greenback has plummeted against major currencies recently, as investors anticipate another round of asset purchases from the Federal Reserve. That policy, known as quantitative easing, could push interest rates down, prompting investors to run away from the dollar and flock to higher-yielding assets.
Gold futures for December delivery rose $6.90 to $1,377.40 an ounce. In earlier trading, gold reached $1,388.10 an ounce -- a new intra-day trading high.
The price of oil rose 46 cents to $83.47 per barrel.
Bonds: The price fell on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury, pushing up the yield to 2.44% from 2.42% late Wednesday. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
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