Stocks are indicated modestly higher on better-than-expected weekly jobless claims numbers Thursday morning. Less than thirty minutes before the opening bell, stock index futures indicate that both the Dow and NASDAQ will open with modest gains.

Stock index futures ticked higher after the Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims fell by 29,000 to 469,000 in the final week of February. Economists were looking for a drop of 28,000. Although the number was not far from expectations, it holds some sway because it comes ahead of key monthly numbers tomorrow morning. Economists expect Friday’s report to show the economy losing 65,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent.

Separate data released Thursday morning showed fourth quarter productivity rising at a 6.9 percent annual rate, up from 6.2 percent in the third quarter and better than the 6.3 percent increase that economists had expected.

Pending home sales and factory orders are due at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. Economists expect home sales to increase by 1 percent for January, which would match the increase from the month before. January factory orders probably rose 1.8 percent, according to the latest estimates.

Bonds are holding modest losses ahead of the next round of data. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is off 4/32nd and now yields 3.63 percent.

The dollar gained .49 to 88.95 against the Japanese yen. The euro slipped .0020 to 1.3673 against the buck.

Commodities are mostly lower. While crude oil edged down .50 to 80.37 a barrel, gold dropped $8.80 to $1134.50 an ounce.

Among the stocks to watch, Disney (DIS) will help the Dow Jones Industrial Average in early trading after BofA/Merrill upgraded the stock to buy and a $42 price target. The retailers are in focus, with several names in the sector due to release same store results Thursday morning. Ciena (CIEN) lost 9 percent after its earnings fell short of Street estimates. SINA and Comtel Telecom (CMTL) are also lower on earnings. Take Two (TTWO) and Suntech Power (STP) are seeing post-earnings strength.