Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day, although disappointing data out of China was expected to limit gains.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.22% increase.
Investors remained cautious after data showed that Chinese industrial production rose 8.6% in the first two months of 2014, missing market expectations for an increase of 9.5%, while Chinese retail sales rose by a smaller-than-forecast 11.8% in the same period.
The data added to concerns over the strength of the world’s second-largest economy.
Tech stocks were expected to be active, following reports NetApp Inc. plans to cut 600 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, due to slowing sales growth caused in part by declining demand from U.S. federal agencies.
Herbalife was also slated to move a day after the company announced a civil probe into its practices by the Federal Trade Commission, sending shares down over 7% on Wednesday. The company's stock was still down 0.74% in after-hour trade.
In the financial sector, Citigroup rose 0.21% in early trading as the U.S. lender was said to be considering lowering compensation or shrinking 2014 pay for any employees linked to a $400 million loan fraud at its Banamex unit in Mexico.
Separately, a U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group trader Fabrice Tourre to pay more than $825,000 after a jury found him liable for defrauding investors in a subprime mortgage product that failed during the financial crisis.
Goldman Sachs shares were up 0.26% pre-market.
Other stocks expected to be in focus included Dollar General, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.08%, Germany's DAX added 0.16%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.18%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.67%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.10%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on retail sales and import prices, in addition to the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.