NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Stocks look ready to take a break on Thursday after using up energy to stage a massive late-day turnaround on Wednesday.
Performance in the tech sector was mixed, as software and Internet stocks couldn't overcome AOL Time Warner's and Computer Associates' woes.
Most of the Nasdaq's push into positive terrain hinged on a stellar performance in the hardware and chip sectors.
If the pre-open activity of chip leader Intel is of any indication, however, semiconductors may run into some problems on Thursday. The stock (NasdaqNM: INTC - news) , in fact, fell 64 cents to $30.80 in Instinet dealings.
March S&P 500 futures rose 1.70 points, or 0.2 percent, and were trading 1.20 points above fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. And Nasdaq futures erased 2.00 points, or 0.1 percent and were trading a mere 0.30 point above fair value.
Government bonds lost some traction across the board ahead of the day's swarm of data.
The 10-year Treasury note was off 2/32 to yield 4.895 percent while the 30-year government bond erased 1/8 to yield 5.40 percent.
Thursday's economic calendar is a crowded one. Releases on tap include weekly initial claims, the December trade numbers, expected to reveal a deficit of $28.3 billion, January leading economic indicators, expected to have risen 0.5 percent, and the Philadelphia Fed Index for February, expected to post a 14.7 reading.
In the currency sector, the dollar gained 0.4 percent to 134.24 yen while the euro edged up 0.1 percent to 86.98 cents.
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