By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures were trading mostly negative on Thursday, with economic data and retail earnings a focus as declines were limited by stability in the euro. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5 points to 10,405, while futures for the Nasdaq 100 fell 4.25 points to 1,868.25. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.5 point to 1,109.40. U.S. stocks ended moderately lower Wednesday as investors wrestled with worries over the euro zone's debt woes and the potential impact on U.S. companies, but got a boost later on after minutes of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee showing that most Fed officials were against a plan to begin sales of mortgage-backed securities relatively soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 66.58 points, or 0.6%, at 10444.37, off its session low as financials rose. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.8% and the S&P 500 lost 0.5%. Economic data in focus for Thursday includes weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Eastern and the Philly Fed index for May and leading indicators for April, both at 10 a.m. "The market has thus far weathered weaker than expected NY Empire manufacturing PMI, record mortgage defaults and collapsing producer (labor costs) and consumer prices out of the U.S. without any apparent concern about the prospects for growth and today's 2nd tier releases are unlikely to undermine that positive bias," said Lena Komileva, head of G7 market economics at Tullett Prebon. Markets also will be eyeing news that Senators narrowly rejected a key vote to end the debate on a sweeping bank reform bill that would have set the stage for enactment of the legislation by the end of the week. Applied Materials (AMAT 13.02, +0.08, +0.62%) could see active trade after the group turned to a profit in the second quarter on a revenue surge.. Also reporting late, Autodesk's (ADSK 30.35, +0.20, +0.66%) quarterly results topped expectations, swinging to a profit as sales rose 11%. A handful of retailers are due to report before the bell, such as Dollar Tree (DLTR 59.67, +0.26, +0.44%) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM 28.44, -0.08, -0.28%) . Dell (DELL 14.98, -0.02, -0.13%) will report after the close of markets Thursday. Still, the big focus for stocks remains the troubles in Europe right now. European stocks made tentative gains Thursday, with banks taking back some losses after a German ban on short-selling unnerved global stocks on Wednesday as it raised questions about unity in Europe. "The fact that France suggested that they were unlikely to follow suit was seen as good news but it did show that there remains a lack of political co-ordination at the heart of Europe," said Jim Reid, strategist with Deutsche Bank. "With the difficult times likely ahead this isn't wholly encouraging. We want European leaders to be singing from the same song sheet." On Friday, markets will be awaiting a crucial vote in German parliament over its contribution to the EU/IMF rescue package. The dollar retreated slightly against the euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2355, -0.0071, -0.5714%) , with the common currency up 0.1% at $1.2370. Several Asian stocks hit their lowest levels in months Thursday, with sentiment weak over Europe issues and Korean stocks falling 1.8% after investigators concluded a North Korean torpedo sunk a South Korean warship, a reminder of political risks in the area. Dubai World and a committee representing its bank lenders agreed in principle on a plan, first announced two months ago, to restructure about $23.5 billion of liabilities -- a deal which would reduce the conglomerate's debt by nearly 40%.

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