Stocks Set to Open Higher on Tech Gains

U.S. stock futures on Thursday were pointing to a second day of technology sector-led gains, this time after eBay's and Nokia's surprisingly strong results, while markets also will be waiting for data to see if there are signs of stabilization in the housing market.

S&P 500 futures edged up a half point at 1,446.70 while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 4 points at 1,819.75. Dow industrial futures rose 9 points.

News out of Yahoo and Sun Microsystems lifted the Nasdaq Composite by 34.9 points, or 1.4 percent on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials climbing nearly 88 points and the S&P 500 rising 12.1 points.

Data on weekly jobless claims, December existing-home sales and weekly natural gas inventories are due for release on Thursday. The dollar lost ground against the yen, after a Bank of Japan member said the central bank should not delay in making rate increases.

Crude oil futures fell 3 cents at $55.34 a barrel in electronic trade after reaching a two-and-a-half week high on Wednesday.

EBay Inc. shares jumped 12 percent in Frankfurt after posting a stronger-than-forecast 29 percent rise in quarterly sales.

Nokia Corp. (NOK) rose in European trading after the world's top handset maker posted a better-than-forecast 19 percent profit rise on 13 percent revenue growth.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) also is expected to climb after the DVD rental company's earnings excluding stock-option expenses rose more rapidly than expected, after adding more subscribers than analysts expected.

Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) also may advance after reiterating 2007 guidance and posting a 5 percent profit rise.

Siemens AG (SI) climbed in Frankfurt trade after its operating profit and revenue in the first quarter rose more than anticipated and it announced it was planning an initial public offering of its automotive supply unit.

Earnings news on Thursday is due from heavyweights AT&T Inc. (SBT), Ford Motor Co. (FPA), and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed lower after hitting a six-and-a-half year high during the session. The FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent in London.

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