Eyeing a third straight session in the black, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is pointed modestly higher in pre-market trading. Wall Street has a busy day ahead, with weekly jobless claims and preliminary fourth-quarter productivity and labor costs taking the spotlight this morning. Meanwhile, investors will have the chance to digest consumer credit data later this afternoon.

Elsewhere, "The S&P 500 Index (SPX) has been stuck in a range lately," observed Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp. "On the downside, we've seen 1,474, 1,495, and 1,500. On the upside, it's been 1,514 and 1,525. Going forward, we may need some sort of catalyst to break out of this, which could be Europe."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are more than 11 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 888,166 call contracts traded on Wednesday, compared to 529,401 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio rose to 0.60, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.65.

From the Trading Floor

"The Investors Intelligence (II) poll came out yesterday, and it was the highest bullish reading since May 2011," continued Sapp. "That was a very bad time to be long equities, so it's definitely something to keep in mind going forward. This doesn't mean we're going to get a big selloff, but conditions are ripe for one if some sort of economic shock were to hit."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is down 0.2% ahead of the bell, with the currency last seen near $79.60.
• Crude oil is looking to erase Wednesday's modest losses, with the front-month contract up 0.3% at $96.90 per barrel.
• Elsewhere, gold futures are pointed 0.2% lower in pre-market trading, with the malleable metal lingering near $1,676.30 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

In today's session, we'll get the usual update on weekly jobless claims, preliminary productivity and labor costs for the fourth quarter, as well as the latest consumer credit data. Earnings results are due out from Sprint Nextel (S), LinkedIn (LNKD), Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Alcatel Lucent (ALU), athenahealth (ATHN), Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH), Coinstar (CSTR), CIGNA (CI), Hasbro (HAS), New York Times (NYT), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), OpenTable (OPEN), Philip Morris International (PM), Sony (SNE), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT), SunPower (SPWR), and Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA).