MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Set For Solid Open With Jobless Claims, PPI In View

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Shake Shack rallies after well-received earnings report

U.S. stock futures pointed to an upbeat trading day on Wall Street Thursday, ahead of economic data that could further weaken the case for an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) climbed 72 points, or 0.4%, to 18,087, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) added 8.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,103.50. Futures for the Nasdag 100 index (NQM5) gained 22.25 points, or 0.5%, to 4,446.

The gains come after U.S. stocks closed virtually unchanged (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-break-two-day-losing-streak-2015-05-13) on Wednesday, as early gains faded by the end of the trading day. The benchmarks had initially traded higher, after disappointing U.S. retail sales prompted investors to bet that the Fed would delay interest-rate increases this year.

The data also sent the dollar sharply lower -- a rout it continued (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-index-slides-to-lowest-since-january-2015-05-14) on Thursday. Read: Weakening dollar may boost second-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/strengthening-dollar-may-boost-second-quarter-earnings-2015-05-13)

Data: Economic indicators due for release Thursday will be assessed in light of the rate-rise debate. Weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The data are expected to show 275,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of 10,000 over the previous week.

The producer-price index for April is also due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, forecast to be flat for the month.

"U.S. PPI [is] looking largely flat, adding to worries from recent weak data that Q2 may not be as strong as many were anticipating and the U.S. might not be ready for interest-rate rises just yet," said analysts at Accendo Markets in a note.

There are no Federal Reserve speakers scheduled for Thursday. Read: Fed's rate-hike path, not timing, is what matters, says Schwab strategist (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schwab-strategist-says-hike-path-not-timing-is-what-to-focus-on-2015-05-13)

Earnings: Reporting ahead of the bell, Kohl's Corp.(KSS) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share on revenue of $4.19 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

After the bell, Nordstrom Inc.(JWN), Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT), King Digital Entertainment PLC(KING) and El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc.(LOCO) are slated to report.

Movers and shakers: Shares of Shake Shack Inc.(SHAK) jumped 7.4% premarket after the burger chain late Wednesday reported first-quarter results that topped estimates from Wall Street analysts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shake-shack-raises-revenue-outlook-after-loss-2015-05-13).

Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO) slipped 0.2% ahead of the bell after reporting a first-quarter loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jc-penney-loss-narrows-sales-rise-2015-05-13) on Wednesday.

Other markets: European markets were mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), as were Asian bourses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-shares-fall-on-iron-ore-weakness-2015-05-13-231034025) at the close. Metals dropped across the board, while crude oil (CLM5) moved slightly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

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