MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Up As Fed, China Given The Brush-off

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pushed modestly higher in early trading on Thursday as neither downbeat Chinese data, nor a perceived hawkish set of Federal Reserve minutes, swayed upbeat sentiment for markets, with an upcoming speech from Janet Yellen staying in the bulls eye.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 20 points to 16,970, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) added 1.4 points to 1,984.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) rose 1.25 points to 4,040.75.

The data calendar is packed, with weekly jobless claims coming at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A trio of data is due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, the most closely watched of which may be existing-home sales for July, which economists expect to hold steady. Also out at that time: the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for August and leading indicators for July.

With time to mull it over, investors appeared to further shrug off the Fed minutes released Wednesday that showed some officials arguing the groundwork should be laid for raising interest rates sooner than expected. A Thursday report showing a three-month low for Chinese factory data was also brushed aside.

Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at IG Markets, said the Fed minutes mostly revealed officials had debated whether to raise rates sooner than expected. "It's still unlikely that it's going to be immediate and remains data dependent," she said in emailed comments.

Wall Street closed modestly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index (SPX) gaining less than 0.3% to end at 1,986.51. The index logged its third straight day of gains and now sits just 0.07% off its record high of 1,987.98, hit July 24.

Delusional investors? Kelly and other strategists said not much will hold markets' attention ahead of Friday's speech from Fed Chairwoman Yellen at Jackson Hole, Wyo. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will speak the same day.

"Markets are making hay while the sun shines -- possibly in a delusional manner based on previous equity moves in the runup and aftermath of the Jackson Hole symposium. Yellen, however, is not Bernanke, and she may offer some surprises," said Kelly.

Movers & shakers: Ahead of the bell, Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) will report results, while retailer Gap Inc. (GPS) will hug the spotlight after the closing bell. The company was outbid in its offer for Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO) by Dollar General Corp. (DG) last week.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) could draw attention in premarket trading after the company said credit-card data may have been stolen from stores in 24 states.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) fell 1% in late trade on Wednesday after the technology company's third-quarter profit fell, but beat forecasts.

Other markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4% as investors pushed aside a mixed bag of purchasing managers indexes and looked to recent market weakness as a buying opportunity. The China data wasn't overlooked in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index snapped a four-session winning streak. Elsewhere, gold(GCZ4) was down more than 1%, continuing to lose ground after the Fed minutes.

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