NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street looked to stage an uneasy advance Thursday, hopeful that a bill to rescue Detroit's carmakers will pass despite concerns that the Senate might block the aid.
The $14 billion of loans to cash-starved General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC could go before the Senate as early as Thursday. But, based on concerns raised by Republicans, and even some uncertain support among Democrats, approval is not guaranteed.
The number of new claims for jobless benefits last week is projected to have increased to a seasonally adjusted 525,000, up from 509,000 the previous week, according to Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The jobless claims report comes a day after the federal government said the monthly budget deficit reached a record in November, in part because of increased spending on programs such as unemployment insurance and food stamps.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 10, or 0.11 percent, to 8,725, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 2.20, or 0.25 percent, to 898.00. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 8.75, or 0.72 percent, to 1,225.75.
Wall Street rose in late trading on Wednesday after a surge in gold and other commodities prices gave investors a reason to snap up energy and materials stocks. The Dow rose 70 points during the session.
The dollar was lower against most other major currencies, while gold was higher.
Oil prices rose above $45 a barrel with investors hoping for a significant OPEC production cut next week to boost the market. Light sweet crude jumped $2.09 to $45.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Stock markets were mixed overseas. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.23 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.70 percent. In Europe, Britain's FTSE-100 rose 0.93 percent, Germany's DAX rose 0.09 percent, and France's CAC-40 shed 0.21 percent.
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