Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday following the previous session's steep losses, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.31 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.32 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.58 percent at 0810 GMT (4:10 a.m. EDT).

Starbucks Corp will be in focus after the company's 2010 and 2011 earnings forecasts came in at the lower end of Wall Street's lofty expectations with commodity costs expected to rise next year, sending its shares down more than 2 percent in extended trading. Shares of Starbucks traded in Frankfurt were down 2 percent.

European shares were slightly down in morning trade as gloomy comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the U.S. recovery eclipsed strong European corporate earnings.

On the macro front, investors awaited the weekly jobless claims, due at 1230 GMT (8:30 a.m. EDT), as well as the Conference Board leading indicators and existing home sales, both due at 1400 GMT (10 a.m. EDT).

Companies expected to report earnings on Thursday include 3m Co , Caterpillar Inc , The Travelers Cos , United Parcel Service , Amazon.com Inc , AT&T , Eli Lilly and Microsoft Corp .

In the banking sector, weak fixed-income trading dragged down Credit Suisse's second-quarter net profit even as the bank managed to beat analysts' forecasts thanks to stable equities and helped by tax gains.

Tech shares will be in focus after Hynix Semiconductor <000660.KS>, the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, warned prices would fall this quarter, sending its shares to a two-month low as the industry braces for weaker profit growth.

Struggling state firm Dubai World is ready to use a special tribunal to force rebel lenders into line on plans to delay repayment of $14.4 billion in debts, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Netflix Inc's second-quarter revenue missed Wall Street's expectations as many new subscribers signed up for lower-priced plans that offer unlimited streaming, and the company's shares fell more than 9 percent after hours.

After the bell on Wednesday, shares of Western Digital Corp fell 2.9 percent to $29.30 in extended trading after the company released its quarterly results.

Shares of Qualcomm Inc rose 2.3 percent to $37.00 in extended trading on Wednesday after the company released its quarterly results.

Bernanke's dour assessment of the U.S. recovery hit U.S. stocks on Wednesday, as his comment that the economy faced unusually uncertain prospects rattled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 109.51 points, or 1.07 percent, to 10,120.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> fell 13.91 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,069.57. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 35.16 points, or 1.58 percent, to 2,187.33.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)

Ben Bernanke