IBT Staff Reporter

Stocks opened flat on Thursday as a weak reading on the labor market and rumors of a French sovereign debt downgrade offset better-than-expected results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.

Stocks were set to open little changed on Thursday as investors grappled with euro zone uncertainty, a raft of corporate earnings and softer-than-expected data on the domestic labor market.

France and Spain sold all the bonds they wanted at auction on Thursday, though for Spain the cost was rising yields, indicating growing concerns the government will not be able to tame its deficit.

DuPont's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations, helped by price hikes and strong sales of insecticides and genetically modified seeds.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter results beat expectations, as trading revenue rose sharply and the bank's wealth management business began to improve, sending its shares up in premarket trading on Thursday.

Bank of America Corp reported lower first-quarter profit as the second-largest U.S. bank took accounting charges related to its debt, but results topped analysts' estimates as credit quality improved.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, according to a government report on Thursday that could dampen hopes of a pick-up in job creation in April after March's slowdown.

Ford Motor Co is investing $760 million to build a new plant in eastern China as part of its effort to catch up with U.S. rival General Motors Co in the world's largest auto market.

Stock index futures trimmed early gains on Thursday, tracking European markets lower, as speculation swirled that France's sovereign debt rating may be downgraded.

Nokia ditched its sales chief and promised to slash more costs, as the Finnish cellphone maker runs out of time to reinvent itself under pressure from smartphone rivals.

Morgan Stanley lost money during the first quarter because a quirky accounting rule cost the bank $2 billion, but excluding that special item, its earnings rose on stronger wealth-management revenue and cost cutting.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Spain sold all of its debt at an auction and ahead of a raft of corporate earnings and economic data.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Spain sold all of its debt at an auction and ahead of a raft of corporate earnings and economic data.

Struggling Finnish cellphone maker Nokia promised more, substantial cost cuts and said its sales chief was leaving after reporting a slightly bigger than expected first-quarter loss.

Energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp is not on the finalized list of 47 pre-qualified bidders for the next round of Iraq energy exploration rights, a statement posted on the oil ministry website showed on Thursday.

Disillusioned by the unfulfilled promise of the cities and feeling stifled by tough austerity measures aimed at coping with an economic downturn, some Portuguese are opting out and returning to the land.

DuPont's first-quarter profit and sales beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by price hikes and strong sales of herbicides and genetically modified seeds.

British legislators said on Thursday they hoped to publish on May 1 a long-awaited report into a phone hacking scandal centered on News Corp's now-closed News of the World tabloid.

Spain managed to sell 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of bonds at auction on Thursday, as much as it wanted, but at a cost of rising yields as the country struggles to tame its deficit.

DuPont posted a jump in first-quarter profit and revenue on Wednesday as higher pricing offset cost increases and currency losses.

Human Genome Sciences Inc said on Thursday its long-time partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc had made an unsolicited proposal to buy it for $13.00 per share in cash, a move underscoring the rapid pace of deal-making in pharmaceuticals.

Spain will pay dearly for longer-term debt on Thursday when it auctions a 10-year bond for only the second time this year to markets spooked by fears it will miss deficit targets and fail to restart growth.

Advertisers are going for Facebook as athletes go for the gold, in the first Olympic Games where marketers are placing such high hopes on social media to create a buzz for their brands.

German bond yields hovered near record lows and the euro held steady on Thursday ahead of bond auctions by Spain and France that are key to investor confidence in Europe's ability to tackle growing economic and fiscal problems.

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it had raised $320 billion so far in a bid to boost its firepower to deal with the euro zone debt crisis, with Poland and Switzerland joining the effort.

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed claims against Goldman Sachs Group Inc , JPMorgan Chase & Co and 40 other defendants that they helped mislead investors in General Electric Co's $12.2 billion stock offering in 2008.

Japan's exports rose in March from a year earlier for the first time in six months, mainly on the strength of U.S. sales, but high fuel imports pushed the trade balance back into deficit and manufacturers remain cautious about business in months ahead.

Hong Kong's financial market watchdog will launch a public consultation in the next couple of weeks that seeks to toughen rules for banks sponsoring initial public offerings, including holding them liable for faulty deal documents.

Asian shares and the euro traded in tight ranges on Thursday ahead of a Spanish bond sale seen as a key test of investors' risk appetite amid renewed concerns over the euro zone's debt crisis.