* Goldman Sachs earnings on tap
* China looks to be second-largest economy
* Futures up: Dow 10 pts, S&P500 3.2 pts, Nasdaq 3.5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Thursday ahead of quarterly results from Goldman Sachs Group
<GS.N>, which leads another round of earnings reports, and
data on the labor market and a leading economic index.
Goldman Sachs is set to report earnings at about 8 a.m.
[], with analysts in a Reuters survey forecasting the
company to earn $5.20 per share.
Economic data expected Thursday includes U.S. weekly
jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. [], and the Conference
Board's Leading Economic Index for December and January's
Philadelphia Federal Reserve factory index at 10 a.m. [].
"The market is trying to get through this period of new
worries and that is China leading the way in hiking interest
rates," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon
Partners in New York.
"All in all a lot depends on the economic numbers today,
along with the earnings, but if we see the dollar beginning to
stabilize, you'll see the resumption of the upward market."
China easily beat its 2009 growth target after a blistering
performance in the fourth quarter that forms a powerful
springboard for it to jump over Japan this year to become the
world's second-largest economy. []
Weekly initial jobless claims are forecast to fall to
440,000, according to a Reuters survey, while the Philadelphia
Fed business index is expected to drop to 18.0 from 22.5 in
December.
President Barack Obama, fresh from his party's election
defeat in the U.S. Senate, will propose stricter limits on
financial risk-taking on Thursday in a move that may recall
Depression-era curbs on banks. For details see []
Xerox Corp <XRX.N> gained 2.9 percent to $9.15 after
reporting its fourth-quarter results. []
EBay Inc <EBAY.O> jumped 8.5 percent to $24.11 in premarket
trade after the Internet auctioneer on Wednesday forecast 2010
results above expectations after posting double-digit revenue
growth in PayPal and its main online marketplaces
unit.[]
Also reporting late Wednesday was Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O>,
which posted its first quarterly rise in U.S. same-store sales
in two years, signaling that recession-weary consumers are
spending more on small, daily luxuries. [].
Starbucks shares climbed 3.5 percent to $24.10.
Other companies due to report include American Express Co
<AXP.N>, Capital One Financial Corp <COF.N> and Google Inc
<GOOG.O> after the close.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 2.2 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> were up
10 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> gained 3.50 points.
Most Asian stock markets fell on Thursday after investors
worried that China would take more measures to temper growth
after posting its fastest quarterly growth in two years.
[]
European shares were flat in early trade on Thursday, with
weakness in banks and miners just offsetting gains in defensive
drugmakers, as investors stayed cautious ahead of further
corporate earnings from the U.S. []
The Dow suffered its worst drop of 2010 on Wednesday as
U.S. stocks succumbed to fears that China's curbs on bank
lending might jeopardize the global economic recovery, while
IBM's outlook sparked caution about the technology sector.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
