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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a higher open Thursday, fueled by the lowest weekly jobless claims figure since May 2008.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.
U.S. stocks ended slightly higher Wednesday, as nervous investors focused on oil prices, which rose above $102 a barrel on renewed concerns about supply and the Libyan conflict.
Economy: The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims totaled 368,000 in the week ended Feb. 26 -- the lowest weekly figure since May 31, 2008.
Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the number of people filing for unemployment benefits to rise to 400,000, up from the revised tally of 388,000 the previous week.
The report came a day before the big labor report, the monthly employment figures from the government. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect that 192,000 jobs were created in February, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.1% from 9% in January.
The Institute for Supply Management's service industries index will be released after the opening bell. It's expected to fall to 59 from the January reading of 59.4, but that would still indicate expansion in the sector.
World markets: European stocks were higher in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.2%, the DAX in Germany ticked up 1.3% and France's CAC 40 added 1.3%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged higher 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.9%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose versus the British pound, and made slight gains against the Japanese yen and the euro.
Oil for April delivery slipped $1.01 to $101.22 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $14.70 to $1,423 an ounce. On Wednesday gold hit an intraday all-time high of $1,441 an ounce, before settling at a fresh record of $1,437.70 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.53% from 3.46% late Friday. 
| 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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