By Paul J. Davies

Here's what we're watching ahead of the opening bell on Thursday.

-- U.S. stock futures rose as investors looked past Wednesday night's storming of Congress by a pro-Trump mob that disrupted the Senate's confirmation of Joe Biden's election victory. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%, suggesting the index of blue-chip stocks will extend a rally that pushed it to a record closing high Wednesday. S&P 500 futures also rose 0.6%.

Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 0.8%, suggesting that giant technology stocks may recoup some of their losses. Tech shares took a beating Wednesday when investors pushed into other stocks that are more dependent on economic growth.

What's Coming Up

-- Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected, adding 787,000 for the week of Jan. 2, versus expectations of 815,000. Trade data showed a bigger deficit than expected for November, at $68.1 billion, up from a deficit of $63.1 billion the previous month.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Bed Bath & Beyond stock plunged nearly 13% in premarket trading, after sales and profits both turned out weaker than expected in the third quarter. The company blamed Covid-19, which meant fewer shoppers in its stores and shipping problems.

-- Walgreens Boots Alliance shares jumped 2.6% premarket, adding to Wednesday's 4.5% rise, after it beat expectations with first-quarter earnings. Headline sales were up nearly 6%, although Walgreens was pushed into a loss by a $1.5 billion charge linked to its investment in AmerisourceBergen.

-- Micron Technology is up 1.5% in premarket trading ahead of its earnings due Thursday afternoon, adding to the 2.6% rise its stock has enjoyed since the start of the year. Citigroup's analyst this week had a dramatic pivot on the stock, moving it from sell straight to buy and nearly trebling the price target to $100 from $35.

-- Moderna is up 2.5% premarket, building on a 6.5% jump Wednesday after the European Union gave a green light to its Covid-19 vaccine for use in Europe.

-- Twitter shares slipped 2.2% premarket following a 1.2% drop the day before. The social media site blocked President Trump's account and deleted some of his posts late on Wednesday after he continued to claim he'd won the election in a "sacred landslide." Facebook also blocked Mr. Trump from posting, but its shares were 1.1% better after falling nearly 3% Wednesday.

-- It's a day that ends in a "y," so Tesla shares are on the move: The stock is up 2.8% premarket on no apparent news, following Wednesday's 2.8% rise.

-- DXC Technology, an IT services firm, shot up nearly 10% on a talk of a takeover offer from French group Atos. Reuters reported that Atos had made a $10 billion approach for its smaller rival.

Market Fact

Shares of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs closed at a record for the first time in nearly three years, a sign of how much the bank has profited from the financial chaos of the past year. Its stock has risen about 19% over the past month, far more than any of its five big-bank peers.

Chart of the Day

The politics of reflation matters most for investors, but the long-term impact of elections is often quite different than it appears the day after the vote, writes columnist James Mackintosh.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-07-21 0852ET