U.S. Stock Futures Point to Mixed Open

Premarket futures were intimating a mixed open for U.S. stocks Thursday, as traders braced for a flood of corporate earnings statements and a troubled Swiss bank secured help from its government.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 13 points at 916 and were 6 ahead of fair value. Nasdaq futures were better by 18 points at 1247 but were 4 points short of fair value.

On Wednesday, stocks suffered heavy losses as traders turned their attention away from an internationally coordinated solution to the credit crisis to focus on an increasingly weak domestic economy.

Ahead of the new trading day, Swiss bank UBS (UBS Quote) received a $5.3 billion cash injection from the Swiss government in exchange for a 9% equity position in the company. UBS and the Swiss National Bank also reached an agreement for UBS to transfer up to $60 billion of currently illiquid securities and other assets from its balance sheet to a separate fund.

Corporate earnings will once again be in focus. Following the close Wednesday, online auctioneer eBay (EBAY Quote) swung to a third-quarter profit but said its core business may face difficulties ahead.

Financial firms Citigroup (C Quote), Merrill Lynch (MER Quote), Bank of New York Mellon (BK Quote) and BB&T (BBT Quote) are slated to report before the new session begins.

Investors also will get quarterly results from telecom firm Nokia (NOK Quote), steel producer Nucor (NUE Quote), coal company Peabody Energy (BTU Quote) and Continental Airlines (CAL Quote).

Shifting to economic data, the Department of Labor's September consumer price index is due for release. Also on tap are the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index and the Fed's industrial production and capacity utilization numbers.