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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set for a positive open Thursday ahead of another batch of corporate earnings.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly higher. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Aside from a handful of economic reports due Thursday morning, including existing home sales and jobless claims, investors will remain focused on corporate results.
Firms including Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), Nokia (NOK) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) will report their quarterly results before the bell. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) will release theirs after the closing bell.
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors focused on better-than-expected corporate results, and testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
World markets: European stocks were positive in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) inched up 0.1%, while the DAX (DAX) in Germany added 0.3%.
Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) rose 0.7%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong climbed 1.7% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) gained 0.8%.
Economy: The Labor Department will release data on initial jobless claims for the week ended July 14 at 8:30 a.m. ET. These claims are expected to total 365,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
At 10 a.m. ET, the National Association of Realtors will release data on existing home sales for June, which are expected to come in at an annual rate of 4.65 million.
Also at 10 a.m., the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will release its Business Outlook index, and the Conference Board will release its Leading Economic Indicators index.
Companies: Morgan Stanley is expected to post earnings of 43 cents a share on $7.7 billion in revenue, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
Nokia is expected to post a loss of 11 cents a share on $9.21 billion in revenue, while Verizon is tipped to post earnings of 64 cents a share on $28.56 billion in revenue.
Shares of American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) fell 0.8% after-hours Wednesday, following the firm's announcement that customer spending was slower in the second quarter than in previous quarters. The company reported second-quarter earnings rose 7% from the same period last year.
IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) shares rose 2.9% after hours Wednesday following the company's quarterly earnings report, which beat analyst expectations and showed increased guidance.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained ground against the euro, but fell versus the British pound and Japanese yen.
Oil for August delivery rose 77 cents to $90.64 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $10 to $1,580.80 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.50% from 1.48% late Wednesday.
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