US Stock Futures Point To Higher Opening Thursday

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Thursday, ahead of the ADP National Employment Report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) report on Initial Jobless Claims.

Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.57 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.46 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.41 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on the ADP National Employment Report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) report Initial Jobless Claims that will be reported later Thursday. The ADP National Employment Report, which measures the monthly change in non-farm and private employment based on the payroll data of approximately 400,000 U.S. business clients, is expected to have made a gain of 145,000 in May.

The Initial Jobless Claims report, which measures the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week, is expected to remain at 370,000 in the week ending May 26.

On Wednesday, U.S. markets declined as investor sentiment was weighed down by concerns that Spain's burgeoning problems will lead to deepening risks of a bigger break-up in the euro zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.28 percent, the S&P 500 Index declined 1.43 percent and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.17 percent.

All major European indices were in the green Thursday following a rise in retail sales in Germany in April as compared to the previous month, even though concerns about the euro zone crisis persisted. London's FTSE 100 index was up by 46.59 points, Germany's DAX rose by 25.88 points and France's CAC 40 climbed by 25.04 points.

Asian markets fell Thursday as the debt crisis looming over the euro zone increased with added Spanish banking sector woes. Market sentiment was negative as investors discounted the possibility of Spain using the European Central Bank's leverage to help its banks and its regions.