* Weekly initial jobless claims due
* Citigroup plans stock offering to pay back TARP-report
* Futures up: S&P 5.10 pts, Dow 38 pts, Nasdaq 8 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Adds details, quotes, byline, updates prices)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Thursday as investors awaited weekly data that will provide
a measure of the health of the jobs market.
Weekly initial jobless claims are expected to show requests
for jobless benefits edged up to 460,000 last week from
457,000, according to Reuters data. After last week's
better-than-expected jobs report for November, investors are
looking for a confirmation that job losses are stabilizing.
The data is due at 8:30 am (1330 GMT), as is a report on
U.S. international trade for October.
Citigroup Inc <C.N> plans to repay the Treasury its rescue
funds with about $20 billion raised in a stock offering, cable
television network CNBC reported. For details, see
[]
Analysts said the repayment would be another sign that
banks were returning to health. Citigroup's shares rose 2.3
percent to $3.95 in premarket trading.
After soaring 62 percent from March's 12-year low, stocks
have drifted of late with investors wary of losing profits as
the year draws to a close. The broad S&P 500 is up 21.3 percent
for 2009.
"You've had a tremendous movement this year, and you'll see
a continued battle between people putting away whatever they
earned this year in profits and investors still thinking there
might be more room to run," said Rick Meckler, president of
investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 5.10 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> gained 38
points, while Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 8 points.
Stocks ended higher on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar fell
and investors' appetite for risk returned, lifting shares of
financial, technology and natural resource companies.
Markets have also been buffeted this week by worries about
the credit worthiness of various economies after Fitch Ratings
downgraded Greece and Standard & Poor's warned Spain that it
risks a debt downgrade in two years.
"We've gotten to a point in the market now where we're past
the initial rise that came from the first round of spending,
and now, you're having investors start to question where the
direction goes from here," said Meckler.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co <LLY.N> forecast 2010 earnings
in a range that was in line with analysts' expectations, but
gave no sign of how profit might pan out after its biggest
drugs lose patent protection between 2011 and 2014.
[]
Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O>, the No. 1 U.S. warehouse
club operator, reported a slight increase in first-quarter
profit as revenue rose. []
Advanced Micro Devices Inc <AMD.N> expects gross margins to
climb to above 45 percent in 2011 as it launches new products
and modifies a manufacturing agreement, boosting its goal of
becoming profitable again. []
Hershey Co <HSY.N> and the trust that controls it are close
to deciding whether to bid for rival candy maker Cadbury Plc
<CBRY.L>, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening,
citing sources close to the matter. []
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
