Stocks: Investors take a breather

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open little changed Thursday, as investors took a breather following the Dow's biggest gains since 2009.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly higher ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

On Wednesday, all three major stock indexes closed the session more than 4% higher. The Dow's 489-point gain is the largest of 2011, and the best percentage gain since March 2009.

Investors around the world raced to scoop up stocks, after the Federal Reserve said it will work with other central banks to support the global economy. The central banks' coordinated move gave investors hope that world leaders are taking the necessary steps, to avoid a credit crunch stemming from Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Fears about U.S. keep investors in Europe

The move is an attempt to "ease strains in financial markets, and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses, and so help foster economic activity," the banks said in a statement.

As investors digest the big rally in the previous session, a handful of fresh U.S. economic reports due Thursday will be in focus, including data on unemployment claims, construction, manufacturing and auto sales.

Investors will also continue to monitor developments in Europe, and not let the Fed's liquidity plan overshadow ongoing worries about the region's debt crisis.

"The coordinated move was welcomed by the market, but the fact that central banks saw the need for such measures confirms how serious the bank funding situation is," Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities, said in a research note.

"Though it is clearly helpful and should ease some of the tension in money markets it does not alter the underlying problem with European sovereign debt," he added.

World markets: Asian markets ended sharply higher during the trading session, after Wall Street's big rally Wednesday.

The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) jumped 2.3%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong rallied 5.6% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) rose 1.9%.

The gains came despite a report showing that Chinese manufacturing slowed in November. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China fell to a reading of 47.7 last month -- the lowest level since March 2009, and down from the previous month's level of 51.

European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) added 0.4%, while the DAX (DAX) in Germany ticked down 0.5% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) fell 0.3%.

A report from Standard & Poor's early Thursday warned that another recession may be on its way to Europe, as the debt crisis in the region continues to spread.

"Europe's approaching recession first took hold in Spain, Portugal and Greece, and the economic woes are now spilling over into the eurozone's core of France and Germany," said S&P's chief economist in Europe Jean-Michel Six in a statement.

Economy: The number of people filing for initial unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 to 402,000 in the latest week, the government said. That was higher than expected, with economists forecasting jobless claims to have totaled 390,000 for the week ending Nov. 26.

The ISM manufacturing Index, a survey of purchasing managers, is expected to hit 51.0 for November, up slightly from 50.8 in October. Construction spending in October is expected to have increased by 0.3%.

Setting the stage for Friday's closely-watched government jobs data, a report from Automatic Data Processing showed Wednesday that private-sector employment grew by 206,000 jobs in November.

Young workers getting hired again

A CNNMoney survey of 21 economists predicts that the monthly jobs report due Friday will show that the economy added 110,000 jobs in November. In October, 80,000 jobs were added to payrolls. Most of the gain will likely come from the private sector, where it's estimated another 135,000 jobs were added.

Companies: Shares of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) jumped more than 5% in premarket trading, amid speculation that Chinese Internet giant Alibaba and several private equity firms are planning to bid for all of Yahoo, according to news reports citing people familiar with the situation.

That news followed reports Wednesday that Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and private equity firm Silver Lake were considering making an offer for a minority stake in Yahoo.

Companies including Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) and the Kroger (KR, Fortune 500) grocery store chain will release their quarterly results before the opening bell.

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

Oil for January delivery slipped 37 cents to $99.99 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery gained 90 cents to $1,746.40 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, pushing the yield up to 2.13 from 2.07% late Wednesday.