Thursday's focus will be on the U.S. weekly jobless claims data at 8:30 a.m. Other data includes leading indicators and the Philadelphia Fed survey, both reported at 10 a.m. Fed officials and others should begin to gather Thursday ahead of the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks to that group Friday morning, but traders are watching for comments from other attendees to trickle out ahead of time.Stocks fought back Thursday against a soft opening, shaking off a slide in China's equity market, as investors responded favourably to a surprising drop in crude oil stockpiles that might suggest an improving demand outlook.The Dow was up 61 points or 0.7 percent to 9279, while the S&P 500 rose 6 points to 996. Higher oil prices are seen as a double-edged sword for stocks because they boost oil profit earnings and represent stronger growth, but they also can cut into consumption, depress an already weakened consumer and pressure corporate profit margins.
