Stock futures change to flat before jobless data (MarketWatch) (02-02-2012)

LONDON — U.S. stock futures were flat on Thursday ahead of data on weekly jobless claims and testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the state of the economy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points to 12,661 and those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index edged up nearly 1 point to 1,320.7. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1 point to 2,488.5

Numerous companies are about to report earnings on Thursday, including Dow Chemical Co. Merck & Co. and Mastercard Inc.

Miners rallied after Xstrata PLC confirmed it’s in talk with Glencore International PLC about a potential merger of equals.

Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. gained 21% following the firm’s quarterly higher earnings.

Shares of Qualcomm Inc. rose nearly 5% in preopen trade after the firm reported on Wednesday a sharp increase in fiscal first-quarter profit.

Source: MarketWatch