Stocks set to continue advance

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for another day of modest gains early Thursday, as investors mulled over the latest jobless claims data.

Weekly filings for first-time unemployment benefits were roughly in line with expectations, but stayed below 400,000 and continuing claims remained low as well.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and S&P 500 (SPX) and futures were up about 0.6% higher ahead of the opening bell, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) was up about 0.9% premarket. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Meanwhile, there's still a lot of nervousness in the market as unrest in the Middle East and Libya spreads and Japan continues to deal with post-earthquake rebuilding.

"Without being cynical about it, I don't think the market really expected this week to produce a gold-plated solution to all of these problems," said Philip Isherwood, equities strategist at Evolution Securities.

Though concerns about global events are far from over, and more downbeat news came from Europe Thursday morning, U.S. futures held their gains.

Isherwood said, investors "are starting to feel that they can accommodate these problems to an extent."

European stocks rose in morning trading, shrugging off downbeat reports from Portugal and Spain. Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.1%, the DAX in Germany gained 1.8% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.1%.

Portugal's Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, resigned early Wednesday after parliament rejected his administration's latest proposal for austerity measures, reports said. The plan is aimed at avoiding a bailout.

Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody's downgraded its debt ratings of 30 Spanish banks. Moody's added that the outlook remained weak, and the banks "show little sign of strengthening materially in the foreseeable future."

U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday, thanks to a late-day advance, as investors shrugged off jitters about turmoil in the Middle East and Japan's nuclear issues. The Dow closed 67 points higher, or 0.6%.

Economy: Before the start of trade, the Commerce Department reported durable goods orders fell 0.9% in February, compared with a 3.6% rise posted in January. Economists were expecting a 1.1% rise in February.

Companies: Shares of Red Hat (RHT), the largest seller of Linux software, surged 13% in premarket trade. The company reported a 43% increase in its fourth-quarter profit late Wednesday.

Electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) reported profit and sales that beat forecasts. Shares rose 3.9% premarket.

Walgreen Co. (WAG, Fortune 500) said early Thursday it will buy online retailer Drugstore.com (DSCM) for $409 million.

After the bell, software giant Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) and smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIMM) will report. Analysts expect RIM to have earned $1.76 a share while Oracle is expected to post a 50-cents-a-share profit.

World markets: Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite fell less than 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 0.4% higher and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground versus the euro, but it gained against the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for May delivery gained 74 cents, or 0.7%, to $106.49 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery rose $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,440.50 an ounce. Gold closed at a record high in the previous session, settling at $1,438 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.36% from 3.26% late Wednesday.