Shares are set for a soft open on Thursday as reports on the job market and durable goods failed to alleviate investor concerns that the stock market is pricey following last year's surge. A government report before the open showed the number of Americans filing for initial jobless benefits rose modestly last week, in line with expectations. Separate government data showed new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods dropped unexpectedly in January as demand for aircraft and cars fell sharply. But an upward revision to December took some of the sting out of the often-volatile report. "The jobless claims came in pretty much as expected," said Phil Flynn, vice president and senior market analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "Though the durable goods order number declined, they had an upward revision to the previous month which softened the negative impact."
Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 eased 1.40 points to 1,141.50, futures for the Nasdaq 100 declined 3 points to 1,469 and futures for the Dow Jones industrials dropped 13 points to 10,584. New home sales are due at 10:00 a.m. (1500 GMT) and are expected to rise to 1.065 million in January, from 1.060 million in December, encouraged by cheap financing. Shares of Starbucks Corp. , the world's largest coffee shop chain, may be under pressure during the day. After the close on Wednesday, Starbucks said sales at company-operated stores grew, but warned that rapid growth could not last. During the regular session, shares had jumped to a record high at $39.68. In other corporate news, Walt Disney Co.'s Chief Executive Michael Eisner's leadership was thrown into question late on Wednesday when an independent shareholder adviser and Calpers, the nation's largest public pension fund, blasted his record and came out in opposition to his reelection to the board. Shares closed at $26.30. Microsoft Corp.'s Japan unit is being investigated by the country's Fair Trade Commission on suspicion of violating anti-trust laws, at a time the U.S. software giant faces similar accusations in Europe. The commission said on Thursday before the open that it believed Microsoft, the world's largest maker of computer software, imposed unfair conditions on computer manufacturers wanting to license its Windows XP operating system software. Microsoft closed at $26.70. On Wednesday, the U.S. market rose in moderate trade, ending a five-day losing streak, as investors welcomed strong earnings reports.//