ECONOMY & MARKETS

Futures on the S&P 500 edged lower in light volume Friday but were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004. Investors will focus on oil prices as U.S. crude hovers near $107 a barrel a day after hitting a 10-month high above $110 on supply concerns in the Middle East.

Facebook is planning to raise its $2.5 billion credit line to facilitate paying taxes on its employees’ restricted stock units when they vest six months after the company’s initial public offering.

Producer prices in the euro zone rose by a greater-than-expected 0.7 percent in January, a result that could add to concerns that overall inflation won’t drop rapidly to the European Central Bank's target, giving the ECB less leeway to intervene to boost the region's economy.

The top after-market NASDAQ losers Thursday were: U.S. Auto Parts Network, SIGA Technologies, GTx, Amicus Therapeutics, SunPower Corp, Spectranetics Corp, Viacom, Orexigen Therapeutics, Zoltek Companies and Electronic Arts.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Thursday were: Shutterfly, Ascena Retail Group, Flow International, Alaska Communications Systems Group, Merge Healthcare, Hercules Offshore, Zynga Inc, Immersion Corp, Collectors Universe and BGC Partners.

The top aftermarket NYSE losers Thursday were: Country Syl Ckng Restaurant Chain, BlackRock International, DCP Midstream Partners, Kraton Performance Polymers, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, Blackstone Group, Laredo Petroleum Holdings, Footlocker and VALE S.A.

The top aftermarket NYSE gainers Thursday were: Symetra Financial Corp, Alon USA Energy, Brunswick Corp, Heckmann Corp, FelCor Lodging Trust Inc, V.F. Corp, Petroquest Energy, Genesco Inc and Mueller Water Products.

The auto sales in the U.S. picked up to the fastest rate in four years strengthened by the climb in sales of fuel-efficient vehicles as gasoline prices continued to surge.

The BSE Sensex was on track for its second weekly fall in a row as the market seesawed on Friday after a muted response to a government stake sale in Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS) raised concerns about divestment programmes.

Daiichi Sankyo Co. and GlaxoSmithKline have stated that they have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture which will bring new products to the Japanese market.

Austerity and reform finely balanced to bring back growth in Europe in face of record unemployment rates.

U.S. stocks advanced Thursday buoyed by a strong weekly jobless claims numbers and solid monthly sales from retailers. Meanwhile, European markets were lifted by a well-received Spanish auction and news that Greece is one step closer to winning a €130 billion ($173.15 billion) bailout.

Brent crude rose above $124 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose as much as $1.11 to $110.55 per barrel on Thursday as upbeat economic data from China and the United States brightened oil demand prospects.

Sales of General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt rallied back in February from early-year lows, as the company sold more than 1,000 units of its hybrid electric plug-in vehicle last month.

Last year Bank of America wreaked up a ruckus among its customers as it toyed with the idea of instituting a $5 fee for debit-card purchases, a plan that was successfully pushed back-until now.

There were signs of improvement in U.S. housing data released in February, but warmer weather could have been as much of a factor as strengthening market fundamentals, according to industry experts.

Euro zone manufacturing contracted in February for the sixth month in a row, according to a Markit Economics report published Thursday, but the sector may be stabilizing as increases begin to offset decreases.

Ford Motor Co. could lose between $500 million and $600 million in Europe this year, another inclination of automakers struggles in a region plighted by an ongoing debt crisis and crawling with competition.

Construction spending fell 0.1 percent in January compared to the previous month, the first drop since July, as the commercial and government sectors contracted, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday.

New car sales grew at a better than expected pace, continuing automakers' steady revival in 2011 and the early months of 2012 and forcing many analysts to revise year-long sales forecasts above a benchmark 14 million mark.

Business at U.S. manufacturers expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in February, according to a closely watched survey of the sector released Thursday.

U.S. 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates fell to 3.90 percent in the week ending March 1, down from 3.95 percent in the prior week, according to Freddie Mac.

China is cutting the share of its reserves denominated in U.S. dollars and may be buying far more European government debt than in the past, according to data compiled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Euro zone unemployment rose in January to 10.7 percent, the highest figure since 1999, as the ranks of the jobless continued to swell in Portugal, Italy and Spain, among others, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said Thursday.

Boosted by an increase in the number of breadwinners across the nation, raises to military personnel and the much-ballyhooed extension of the payroll tax cut earlier this year, average U.S. personal income rose in January by 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday in a release. But a spike in other taxes and price inflation meant that increase was not enough to make people better off, on average, data from the same release showed.

Claims for jobless benefits came in at 351,000 for the third consecutive week and the four-week moving average continued to decline. However, economists point out that the economy needs to show more strength for the drop in the still-high jobless rate to be sustainable.

Euro zone unemployment rose to 10.7 percent in January from a revised 10.6 percent in December, while the annual inflation rate edged up to 2.7 in February from 2.6 percent in January, the European Union's official statistics agency, Eurostat, reported Thursday.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening Thursday ahead of a wave of economic data including ISM manufacturing index and key weekly jobless claims.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers Wednesday were: MEMSIC, Pegasystems, HiSoft Technology International, Republic Airways Holdings, Glu Mobile and VIVUS. The top after-market NASDAQ losers were: Finisar Corp, GRAVITY Co, Oclaro, Green Plains Renewable Energy, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions and NetGear, Inc.