LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock index futures were higher Thursday, holding small gains after weekly jobless claims showed a modest fall.
The Labor Department said first-time claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 21,000 to 554,000 in the week ended Dec. 13, after surging to a 26-year high in the previous week.
Still, the four-week average of those claims rose 2,750 to 543,750 - the highest level since December 1982, and initial claims are not expected to drop again until mid-January, the Labor Department said.
S&P 500 futures were up 7.2 points to 910.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.25 points to 1,230.75. Dow industrials futures gained 68 points to 8,847.
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. See full story.
GM shares were up 3 cents in pre-market trade to $4.40.
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.
FedEx Corp. said Thursday it would freeze hiring and cut salaries in order to reduce costs. The Memphis-based package-delivery giant also said second-quarter earnings rose to $493 million, or $1.58 a share, from $479 million, or $1.54 a share, n the same period a year ago, but warned of "very difficult" economic conditions through calendar-year 2009.
FedEx shares were up 2.3% in pre-market trade.
Ingersoll-Rand Co. said Thursday that it was cutting its fourth-quarter estimate for adjusted earnings to a range of 20 cents to 30 cents a share from an earlier view of 55 cents to 75 cents. Full-year adjusted earnings per share from continued operations are now expected to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.55, down from a previous $3.35 to $3.55. See full story.
The dollar was mixed following its recent, post-Fed rout. The euro traded at $1.4634 after earlier hitting three-month high versus the greenback. The dollar rebounded slightly versus Japanese currency to trade at 88.30 yen, after falling to a 13-year low near 87 yen on Wednesday. See Currencies.
Nymex light crude futures were up 24 cents at $44.85 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 up 0.1%.
