NEW YORK, Feb 12 - U.S. stocks are poised to open flat to lower on Thursday after a weaker-than-expected report on weekly jobless claims cast some doubt on the strength of the recovering economy. A government report said the number of Americans lining up for first-time jobless claims rose unexpectedly for the second consecutive week, with inclement weather again being blamed. Wall Street had expected claims to drop. U.S. retail sales posted a surprise decline in January as weakness in auto sales more than offset gains in purchases of clothing and groceries, another government report said. "The market is confused because the initial claims are weaker than expected, but the retail sales ex-autos are much stronger than expected," said Steven Englander, chief North American foreign exchange strategist at Barclays Capital. "Given Greenspan's emphasis on jobs, the market is very focused on the labor market." Equity index futures pointed to a lower open. Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for March were down 0.70 points, while Nasdaq futures for the same month slipped 2 points. Dow industrials futures fell 10 points. On Wednesday, blue-chip stocks went on a tear, closing at a 32-month high after Comcast Corp. announced its bid to buy Walt Disney Co. and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the economy was growing vigorously and reassured investors that no interest rate hike is imminent. Greenspan's comments came on the first day of his two-day schedule to testify before congressional panels on the economy. He will speak to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
Later in the session, investors will get more economic data to sort through as December business inventories hit at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) and the January Federal Budget is released at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT). The earnings season is winding down but a key quarterly scorecard will come from technology bellwether Dell Inc. after the close of regular trading. U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc. and No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain, said on Thursday quarterly profit rose as its premiums outpaced medical costs. Both revenue and medical costs fell in the quarter, partly because Aetna has been shedding members. Cox Communications Inc. , the third-largest U.S. cable operator, posted a fourth-quarter loss, reversing a profit a year earlier when it recorded derivative investment gains. Meanwhile, claims for state unemployment aid rose in the week ended Feb. 7, the Labor Department said, bringing claims to the highest level in two months. The Commerce Department said retail sales - a major component of U.S. consumer spending - fell 0.3 percent in January, the first decline since September. Excluding autos, however, retail sales posted a 0.9 percent increase.//