By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Ctrip soars on Priceline stake

Ctrip soars on Priceline stake

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Stock futures moved modestly higher on Thursday, but gains weren't meaningful, as the market awaited a press conference from the European Central Bank, which left key rates unchanged.

Weekly jobless claims were also ahead, while Russia was in the headlines after revealing the specifics of its food-import ban, introduced in retaliation against sanctions.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 27 points to 16,422, while the S&P 500 index (SPU4) gained 4.2 points to 1,919. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4) tacked on 5 points to 3,873.75.

Weekly jobless claims data will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect initial jobless claims to edge up to 305,000 in the seven days ended Aug. 2, from 302,000 in the prior week. If claims stay low, that will be taken by some as a sign that companies plan to hire modestly and avoid big layoffs.

At 3 p.m. Eastern Time, the Federal Reserve will report on consumer credit for June.

European questions

Stock futures stayed more or less where they were after the ECB said it would leave key rates unchanged. Wall Street put on a lackluster performance on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index (SPX) finishing flat at 1,920.23 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) inching up 0.1% to 16,443.34. Also: A big week for IPOs could have sparked last week's S&P selloff.

Analysts will now be looking for ECB President Mario Draghi to use his monthly news conference to elaborate on rate cuts of two months ago. The press conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. See ECB preview: The charts that should keep Mario Draghi up at night

The Q&A session is expected to be dominated by questions about the impact of sanctions on Russia to the euro zone, as well as worrying developments in some of the region's biggest economies, such as Germany. Adidas AG posted a 16% profit drop and said it won't meet its 2015 profit outlook.

Meanwhile, Russia has banned a wide range of foodstuffs from the U.S., members of the European Union and other nations.

European stocks had trouble getting started, with the main Stoxx 600 index flat. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell to its lowest settlement in nearly two weeks as casino shares dropped.

Corporate front

Mylan Inc.(MYL) eased 1% in premarket after posting a 30% fall in earnings as higher expenses masked a revenue rise for the generic-drug company.

Shares of Keurig Green Mountain Inc.(GMCR) may follow up a late-session loss with more downside in premarket trading. The coffee company reported quarterly sales below estimates.

Priceline Group Inc.(PCLN) said after the close of markets on Wednesday that it plans to take a $500 million stake in Ctrip.com International Ltd. (CTRP), China's largest online travel company. The two companies already have a commercial agreement. Ctrip rallied 12% in premarket trading.

Shares of iDreamSky Technology Ltd. (DSKY) will begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday. The company describes itself as the biggest independent mobile-game publishing platform in China. Read more about what to know about the iDreamSky IPO.

Also read: A big week for IPOs could have sparked last week's S&P selloff.

In other markets, gold prices (GCU4) pulled back but held above the $1,300-an-ounce level, while oil (CLU4) eased off and the dollar (DXY) inched higher.

More must-reads from MarketWatch:

This market expert sees stocks up another 70%

These eight health-care stocks could rise up to 75%

Cash-rich spending spree is sign of a growing tech bubble

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