Disappointing economic data ended the two day market rally Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 26 points, or 0.3%, to 10,271 while the S&P 500 shed 6 points, or 0.6%, to 1,097. The Nasdaq was the lone winner, edging out a gain by nearly 1 point, or 0.04%, at 2,191.

Morning Outlook

Futures are heading lower this Thursday morning, following the lead of foreign markets where heavy debt burdens in the EU weigh on investors. Dow Jones industrial average futures declined 54, or 0.5 percent, to 10,187. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures lost 6.60, or 0.6 percent, to 1,089.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures dropped 10.00, or 0.6 percent, to 1,775.50. Those numbers after the bell from Cisco Systems, Inc (CSCO) don’t seem to be helping much! The greenback is looking strong as investors head to the dollar.

Wall Street will be hot with a few economic reports in the premarket, including the last jobs reading before the employment situation.

Currencies and Commodities

The dollar was fell 0.2418% at 90.76 yen in the currency market. The euro depreciated 0.3119% to $1.3850 while the pound dropped 0.1475% to $1.5868. Gold fell $6.50 to $1105.50 an ounce, while silver plummeted 0.53% at $16.23 Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 68 cents to $76.30 per barrel on the NYMEX; a 0.88% decline.

Economic Calendar

8:30 AM
Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims for the week of January 30th , to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The fewer people filing for unemployment benefits, the more have jobs, the more income in the consumer’s pocket, as well as a forecast on the strength of the economy. The consensus is for an increase of 455,000 for first time jobless claims, down from last week’s reading of 470,000; with the four week moving average up 9,500 to 456,250, rising for the second straight week.

8:30 AM
Productivity and Costs: Productivity measures the growth of labor efficiency in producing the economy’s goods and services for the 4th quarter. Unit labor costs reflect the labor costs of producing each unit of output. The consensus change in nonfarm productivity is 7%, as employers cut hours and resources, forcing work to be done at a faster rate, rather than increasing output in the economy. This follows an 8.1% increase in Q3 of 2009.

10:00 AM
Factory Orders: Represent the dollar level of new orders for both durable and nondurable goods. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3% for the month of December, following a 1.1% rise in November; led by nondurables orders.