Stock futures up; data, ECB, retail sales ahead

MADRID (MarketWatch) � U.S. stock-market futures rose on Thursday ahead of reports that are expected to show declines in jobless claims and in productivity. An interview with an influential Fed president and a European Central Bank meeting will also garner attention.

On the corporate front, same-store sales data and earnings from companies including Sprint Nextel Corp., Cigna Corp. and others will also keep investors busy.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 �rose 19 points to 13,947, while those for the Standard & Poor�s 500 index SPH3 �rose 2.5 points to 1,509.30.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDH3 �rose 5.25 points to 2,742.50.

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Ahead of data, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is giving an interview to CNBC at 8 a.m. Eastern time. That talk will be closely watched by investors, who will parse his views on the economy.

Evans, a member of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee, was also the first to call for the Fed to set a jobless- rate level that would need to be hit in order for the central bank to lift interest rates.

Fed Gov. Jeremy Stein will be giving a speech at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on financial stability.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, data on the productivity of U.S. businesses is likely to show a fourth-quarter fall of 1.5%, which would partly reverse a 2.9% gain in the prior quarter, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. Investors, though, are not likely to be alarmed by such a fall.

The Tell: What to watch on the U.S. economy on Thursday

At the same time, the Labor Department will issue weekly jobless claims, and economists expect the number of people who filed new applications for benefits declined to 360,000 from 368,000.

Consumer-credit data for December are due at 3 p.m. Eastern, which should show how actively � or not � Americans used their credit cards.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA ended the prior trading day up 7.22 points, or 0.1%, at 13,986.52, with some earlier jitters in the session over European politics. Read: Stocks edge u on earnings; Nasdaq falls

`Wobbles in the euro zone�

�We�re seeing some wobbles in the euro zone, but that�s not necessarily a U.S. concern,� said Stephen Pope, managing partner at Spotlight Ideas. �U.S. corporations are showing robust growth and they�re cash-rich. They are extraordinarily good value for money. It�s win-win for corporates and that�s why you�re getting a blend of markets powering higher.�

Despite the bumps in the markets this week, Pope said he doesn�t see any big panic button to press unless the Dow drops past the 13,500 level and the S&P 500 SPX �index drops to 1,445. �We�ve got plenty of fat on the bone here; there will be retracement, days of correction,� he said. �The downside in these price movements are buying opportunities.�

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles L. Evans is the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Europe stocks were wobbling ahead of an ECB meeting that�s expected to result in no changes to key interest rates. The policy decision is due at 7:45 a.m. Eastern, while ECB President Mario Draghi�s news conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern will likely be the main event. Read: Draghi unlikely to take up arms in currency war

Away from data, retailers will report same-store-sales data on Thursday.

Among corporates, Sprint Nextel S is projected to report a loss of 46 cents a share for the fourth quarter, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Cigna Corp. CI is expected to report earnings of $1.48 a share for the fourth quarter and Hasbro Inc. HAS is likely to post fourth-quarter earnings of $1.18 a share.

Shares of Akamai Technologies Inc. AKAM �could come under pressure in premarket trading after tumbling more than 8% in after-hours action. The Internet technology group said fourth-quarter earnings rose 14%; revenue came in line with its own estimates and was below market expectations. Read: Akamai profit up on rising demand for online video

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. GMCR �shares could also see pressure after taking a late-session hit. The company posted a 3% profit rise but projected downbeat sales growth for the current quarter. Read: Green Mountain net rises; shares off on outlook

Investors, well, yelped late on Wednesday as local-listings website Yelp Inc. YELP �reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss. The per-share loss was twice what analysts were expecting, but revenue was stronger than estimated. The stock was off almost 4% after hours.