Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Thursday ahead of key weekly jobless claims from the government.

Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.75 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.68 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are up 0.70 percent.

Ahead of the Friday's August nonfarm payrolls report, the Department of Labor is due to report the initial jobless claims data at 8:30 am EDT. The economists forecast initial jobless claims to be 350,000 for the week ending March 3 against 351,000 of the previous week. Any data that is weaker than expected will weigh on market sentiments.

On Wednesday, the U.S. stock ended with gains as improved optimism that the Greek debt swap will proceed and better-than-expected ADP jobs data boosted sentiment.

Payroll firm ADP Employer Services said that the U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected in February. Companies added 216,000 workers to their payrolls in February, up from an upwardly revised 173,000 jobs added in January.

The ADP data came two days before the government's monthly nonfarm payroll report, which is the most closely-watch economic data pertaining to the jobs market and is a key gauge for the direction and pace of the economic recovery.

European stock markets advanced on hopes that Greece would win enough creditor support to avoid a messy default. Markets are currently trading higher with FTSE 100 up by 61.28 points, DAX30 up by 111.85 points and CAC 40 up by 54.68 points.

Major banks and pension funds showed their support for Greece's bond swap offer to private creditors, spurring optimism that the deal will pass and clear the way for a bailout package to avert an immediate default on its debt, Reuters reported.

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