By Ellie Ismailidou and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Investors look ahead to busy day of Fed speakers

Stock futures trimmed gains Thursday but still were pointing to the first positive session in three days for Wall Street as a boost from higher oil prices offset weaker-than-expected data on the U.S. labor market.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 34 points, or 0.2%, to 17,613, while S&P 500 futures added 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,051. Nasdaq-100 futures added 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,319.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-climb-17000-to-274000-2016-05-05) at the end of April rose to a five-week high, missing economists' expectations.

The jobless-claims data came one day after a weaker-than-expected report on private-sector payrolls and a fall in worker productivity, which pushed stocks to finish lower on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-mired-in-red-with-private--payrolls-data-on-tap-2016-05-04).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-mired-in-red-with-private--payrolls-data-on-tap-2016-05-04)But on Thursday, stock futures pointed to a change in direction as WTI crude surged 3% as wildfires disrupted output from Canada's oil sands industry (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-as-canadian-wildfire-threatens-output-2016-05-05). The fire, in Alberta, Canada, has forced the evacuation of 88,000, according to report from Reuters.

Apart from the oil boost, another reason why the market "took the weak labor data in a stride" is that evidence of weakness in the labor market is viewed as justification for the Federal Reserve to delay further interest-rate hikes this year, given that inflation remains subdued, said Jeff Carbone, managing director at wealth manager Cornerstone Financial Partners.

Meanwhile, the dollar on Thursday continued its march higher against the yen, buying Yen107.35 from Yen106.95 late Wednesday, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose to 93.51 from 93.19. The euro slipped to $1.1480.

"Strong dollar, yen strength and lower oil pushed equities lower. Now, equities are backed by weaker yen, higher oil in addition to a weaker euro," said Nour Al Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities, in emailed comments.

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-break-four-day-losing-run-as-oil-prices-rally-2016-05-05) rose 0.7%, led by gains for major oil producers.

Data and Fed speakers: San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams will be interviewed on CNBC Thursday, while St. Louis Fed President James Bullard will speak on the economy and Fed policy at the University of California Santa Barbara at 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

Williams and Bullard will also appear on a panel on "international monetary policy and reform in practice" at the Hoover Institute conference in Stanford University at 7:15 p.m. Eastern. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will be on the same panel.

Stocks to watch:Tesla (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2016/05/04/tesla-results-to-include-model-x-sales-model-3-prep-live-blog/)(TSLA) rose 2% after the electric-car maker posted a narrower-than-expected first-quarter adjusted loss and sales that were in line with Wall Street's forecasts late Wednesday.

Alibaba (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibabas-stock-surges-as-sales-beat-offsets-profit-miss-2016-05-05)(BABA) rose nearly 5.6% in premarket after results. Merck (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/merck-beats-profit-expectations-bumps-up-full-year-guidance-range-2016-05-05)(MRK) rose slightly on its results.

Avon Products Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/avon-loss-widens-as-it-books-charges-and-pushes-ahead-with-restructuring-2016-05-05).(AVP), SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.(SEAS), Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) and Kellogg Co. (K) still ahead.

Also reporting late Wednesday, Fitbit Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fitbit-shares-plunge-on-weak-quarterly-outlook-2016-05-04).(FIT) was down 12% on a weak quarterly outlook. Whole Foods Market Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whole-foods-market-cuts-annual-guidance-2016-05-04-17485469).(WFM) cut its annual guidance, though profit slight beat Wall Street forecasts. Kraft Heinz Co (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-heinz-rallies-as-first-quarter-earnings-beat-expectations-2016-05-04).(KHC) rose after better-than-expected earnings.

Read:Elon Musk promises Tesla will do the improbable (or even impossible) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elon-musk-promises-tesla-will-do-the-improbable-or-even-impossible-2016-05-04)

After the close, Square Inc.(SQ), GoPro Inc.(GPRO), FireEye Inc.(FEYE), News Corp.(NWS.AU), which owns MarketWatch, the publisher of this report, Yelp Inc.(YELP), DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.(DWA) and Herbalife Ltd.(HLF) will report.

AT&T Inc.(T) unwound a 15-year partnership with Yahoo Inc.(YHOO) and awarded the contract to Web and mobile portals to Synacor Inc.(SYNC).

Alphabet Inc.'s(GOOGL) YouTube will be offering a paid subscription bundle of streaming TV channels as soon as next year, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/youtube-reportedly-planning-streaming-tv-service-2016-05-04).

Other markets:Asian markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-stymied-by-weak-china-services-data-2016-05-05) had a mostly lackluster session, with appetite for equities dampened by news that China's service activity grew at a slower pace in April. Fears over slowing economic growth world-wide has been a factor in driving down global equity prices this week.

Gold prices rose $5.10, or 0.4%, to $1,279.50 an ounce.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)

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