Stocks set to continue advance

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were poised to climb Thursday, following European markets higher, ahead of data on jobless claims and corporate results in the tech sector.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all about 0.5% higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

European stocks rose in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.5%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2%.

Portugal’s Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, resigned early Wednesday after parliament rejected his administration’s latest proposal for austerity measures, reports said. The plan is aimed at avoiding a bailout.

Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its debt ratings of 30 Spanish banks, reports said. Moody’s added that the outlook remained weak with no major improvement expected soon.

U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday, thanks to a late-day advance, as investors shrugged off jitters about turmoil in the Middle East and Japan’s nuclear issues. The Dow closed 67 points higher, or 0.6%.

Economy: The Labor Department releases its weekly report on first-time unemployment claims, and the Commerce Department issues its February durable goods report, both at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Initial jobless claims are expected to remain roughly unchanged at 384,000. Economists expect durable good orders rose 1.1% in February, compared with the 3.2% rise posted in January.

Companies: Analysts expect Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) to post quarterly earnings of $1.85 a share before trading opens, according to Briefing.com.

After the bell, software giant Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) and smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIMM) will report. Analysts expect RIM to have earned $1.76 a share while Oracle is expected to post a 50-cents-a-share profit.

World markets: Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite fell less than 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 0.4% higher and Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar ticked up slightly against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for May delivery gained 75 cents, or 0.7%, to $106.48 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery rose $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,440.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.36% from 3.26% late Wednesday.