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 Investors awaited economic figures such as weekly claims for unemployment benefits as well as quarterly results from big names like Microsoft Inc. but in a broader sense tried to determine whether the late-day comeback Wednesday would hold.
Investors worldwide this week have given in to fears of a U.S. recession that could affect economies around the world. In European trading Thursday, some investors were unnerved by word of fraud at a large French bank. Societe Generale said it discovered $7.14 billion fraud conducted by a single futures trader.
The Dow Jones industrial average on Wednesday swung 631.86 points from its low point to its high
-- its largest single-day reversal in more than five years. But investors are now tasked with determining whether the rally was in part due to technical reasons or whether it represented any shift in sentiment.
Some investors purchasing stock in Wednesday's rally were perhaps forced to buy when stocks started turning higher. Such investors who "short" stocks wager prices will fall but have to step in to cover their bets should stocks move higher. These moves can exacerbate rallies.
Stock futures were volatile early Thursday but indicated stocks would open higher. Dow futures rose 28, or 0.23 percent, to 12,300. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.50, or 0.26 percent, to 1,345.50, and the Nasdaq 100 index rose 8.00, or 0.44 percent, to 1,815.50.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.57 percent from 3.55 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 2.06 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.29 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 3.93 percent, Germany's DAX index surged 5.44 percent, and France's CAC-40 jumped 4.13 percent.
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 Beyond the broader moves of the markets, investors still had concerns about the health of corporate results. Online auctioneer eBay Inc. said late Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue showed gains. While the results were stronger than Wall Street had expected, investors were concerned by the company's first-quarter forecast, which fell short of expectations.
Ford Motor Co. reported it lost $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter as weakness in North America offset gains in markets elsewhere. Ford lost $1.30 per share in the fourth quarter, narrower than a loss of $5.6 billion, or $2.98 per share, in 2006. Excluding special items, Ford's results fell just short of Wall Street's expectations.
Investors found reason for optimism from strong results from the world's largest maker of mobile phones. Nokia Corp. said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 44 percent to $2.6 billion and that it had managed to meet a long-term goal of hitting 40 percent market share for handset sales.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit rose 10 percent. The earnings of $799 million, or $1.89 per share, topped the $1.69 per share that Wall Street had been expecting, according to Thomson Financial. Giving investors further room for optimism, the company boosted its 2008 profit forecast amid strength in its aeronautics business.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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