Stock Market Update

Equity futures continue to tick higher shortly before the open, with the major averages poised to reclaim yesterday's modest weakness.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 7 decreased by 5,000 to 227,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 230,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending January 31 increased by 21,000 to 1.862 million.

The key takeaway from the report is its steady messaging that layoff activity is low and that hiring activity is slow.