U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Thursday, September 15. The Dow Futures are at 17952.0 for a gain of 32.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2117.5 for a gain of 4.25 points. The Nasdaq Futures are at 4738.75 for a gain of 10.25 points. The Russell Futures are at 1208.3 for a gain of 3.70 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is at 16405.01 for a loss of -209.23 or -1.26 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 23335.59 for a gain of 144.95 or 0.63 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is at 3002.85 for a loss of -20.66 points or -0.68 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is at 28415.64 for a gain of 43.41 or 0.15 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 6687.81 for a gain of 14.50 or 0.22 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 10383.35 for a gain of 4.95 points or 0.05 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4366.73 for a loss of -3.53 points or -0.08 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is at 338.94 for a gain of 0.52 points or 0.15 percent.

Thursday’s Factors and Events

The following reports are on the economic calendar for Thursday: Jobless Claims, the Producer Price Index, Retail Sales, the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, the Current Account report, Industrial Production, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, Business Inventories, the Fed Balance Sheet and the Money Supply.

The following stocks are trading actively in the pre-market:

Cardinal Health

Anadarko Petroleum

Murphy Oil

Alcoa

Chesapeake Energy

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Skyworks Solutions

Broadcom

Honeywell International

Allergan

On Thursday investors will be hopeful for signs of improvement in the economic data. Direction of today’s data reports could be a key factor in influencing the Fed’s economic outlook and decision on monetary policy.

Among stocks to watch are Oracle, reporting earnings today, and Apple, as investors gauge the firm’s growth trajectory for the iPhone.

Wednesday’s Activity

Stocks were lower Wednesday with oil prices the main factor for the day’s lower valuations. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18034.77 for a loss of -31.98 points or -0.18 percent. The S&P 500 was also lower, closing at 2125.77 for a loss of -1.25 points or -0.06 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5173.77 for a gain of 18.52 points or 0.36 percent.

Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index lower at 1211.59 for a loss of -0.73 points or -0.06 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index lower at 732.28 for a loss of -2.54 points or -0.35 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1512.78 for a loss of -4.48 points or -0.30 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 943.29 for a loss of -0.04 points or -0.01 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1257.50 for a loss of -0.79 points or -0.06 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1177.97 for a loss of -0.74 points or -0.06 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 600.84 for a loss of -1.05 points or -0.17 percent.