Stocks Head for Mixed Start Ahead of Jobless Data

NEW YORK  – Anticipation of fresh news from the labor market
and high-level efforts to get more Democrats to support the
compromise on extending tax cuts has Wall Street on edge ahead of
the market opening.

The Labor Department will report its tally of people who filed
first time claims for unemployment benefits last week before the
market opens. Economists expect first-time claims fell.

Treasurys are inching up after suffering two days of losses. The
10-year yield is trading at 3.26 percent, the highest level in
nearly six months.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures
are up 35, or 0.3, to 11,403. Standard and Poor’s 500 index futures
are down 5, or 0.4, to 1,223. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 1.5, or
0.07, to 2,199.