Stocks poised for early gains

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a modest bounce Thursday, following an unexpected narrowing of the U.S. trade deficit.

Stocks have declined for six straight sessions as worries about a growth slowdown have dominated trading. Any early enthusiasm could be tempered by initial unemployment claims data, which remained above 400,000 for the ninth straight week.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were modestly higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks fell Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P logging a sixth consecutive session in the red.

Reports on jobs and housing have been gloomy in recent weeks. The downbeat mood was reinforced late Tuesday by comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, which killed a modest stock rally.

Analysts say the recent weakness could be setting stocks up for a modest rebound, but trading will likely remain choppy as uncertainty continues to plague investor sentiment.

3 cross currents - StockTwits

"Until we get through the next few weeks and start to see additional economic data and see what the Fed does in respect to QE2 or a successor to QE2, we're going to be in a period of disappointing news and heightened uncertainty," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank. "We might go into a trading range rather than completely roll over -- markets rarely go one way for long without stopping."

Economy: The Labor Department released its weekly initial jobless claims, showing that 427,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week. That was slightly higher than expected.

The government also issued its monthly report on the U.S. trade balance, showing the gap narrowed to $43.7 million in April, instead of the expected widening.

At noon the Fed releases its quarterly "flow of funds" report that details household wealth and debt.

Companies: Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) reported a data breach of roughly 1%, or 210,000, of the bank's online accounts in North America. Shares of Citi edged higher ahead in premarket trade.

The Securities Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating Goldman Sachs' (GS, Fortune 500) involvement in Libya, according to the Wall Street Journal.

After the market closed Wednesday, Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500) lowered its outlook for second-quarter earnings and revenue. Shares of the technology company fell 4.5% in after-hours trading, and dipped less than 1% in premarket trading.

J.M. Smucker (SJM, Fortune 500) shares rose 2.5% after the jam and jelly maker reported a fourth-quarter profit that topped forecasts by a penny per share.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 hovered barely above breakeven and the DAX in Germany rose 0.1%, while France's CAC 40 edged was unchanged.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 1.25%, as was widely expected.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.7% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar slipped against the euro and the British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen .

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Oil for July delivery remained above $101, gaining 51 cents to $101.25 a barrel Thursday morning. On Wednesday, oil prices jumped nearly 2% to settle near $101 a barrel, after OPEC failed to reach an agreement on crude production levels.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $2.70 to $1,536 an ounce. Silver prices jumped 0.9% to $36.95 an ounce.

Commodities have held up pretty recently, which is good sign for the economic recovery, said McCain.

"I don't think you would be seeing quite as much strength there if it didn't bode well for some sort of economic rebound, at least in the shorter term," he said.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged up slightly, pushing the yield down to 2.92% from 2.96% late Wednesday.