LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Thursday ahead of important employment data, pointing toward a potential rebound from the previous day's losses.
Weekly initial jobless claims will be in the spotlight at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, followed by the Philadelphia Fed index at 10 a.m.
Surveys show economists expect claims to decline slightly after hitting a 26-year high last week.
"The main focus will be the weekly job numbers after last week's big jump," said Ian Griffiths, a dealer at CMC Markets. "The job numbers are also the last big figure released next week before the Christmas break so all eyes will be focused as unemployment remains one of the main economic problems."
S&P 500 futures were up 4.1 points to 907.10 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.25 points to 1,230.75. Dow industrials futures gained 48 points to 8,827.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 99.8 points Wednesday to close at 8,824.34. The S&P 500 fell 8.76 points and the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.58 points. See Wednesday's Market Snapshot.
Automakers may be in focus after The Wall Street Journal reported that General Motors Corp. and Chrysler have re-opened merger talks. Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management signaled it was wiling to give up part of its ownership stake in the auto maker, the report said.
Chrysler on Wednesday said it would idle all 30 of its plants for at least a month in an effort to bring output closer in line to plunging demand for new cares and trucks. See full story.
Separately, Ford Motor Co. said it would shut down most of its North American assembly plants for an extra week in January, reports said.
The dollar was mixed following its recent, post-Fed rout. The euro traded at $1.4577 after earlier hitting three-month high versus the greenback above $1.46. The dollar rebounded slightly versus Japanese currency to trade at 88.70 yen, after falling to a 13-year low near 87 yen on Wednesday. See Currencies.
Nymex light crude was up 37 cents at $44.98 a barrel in electronic trade.
In international markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% overnight, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was barely changed.
