US STOCKS-Futures higher ahead of weekly jobless data
* Futures up: Dow 71 pts, S&P 8.25 pts, Nasdaq 21.5 pts
By Tanya Agrawal
May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday ahead of weekly jobless numbers, after the market closed little changed on Wednesday on weak April retail sales data.
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits is expected to rise to 275,000 from 265,000 last week. The data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).
* The dollar index, which has been on a tear, fell to a 5-month low.
* April retail sales data remained unchanged from the prior month as consumers cut back on spending on big ticket items like cars.
* The 10-year Treasury yield eased back from Wednesday's five-month closing high of 2.28 percent, but analysts say the momentum in yields remains upwards.
* Dow component Cisco fell 1.2 percent to $29 after the company beat estimates but said spending by telecom customers was not going to improve in the near future.
* Kohl's shares fell 6 percent to $70 after the department store operator reported lower-than-expected quarterly same-store sales, hurt by colder-than-usual weather in February.
* Puma Biotechnology (NYSE: PBYI - news) shares tanked 22.75 percent to $162 in premarket trading after details from a late-stage trial of its experimental breast cancer pill showed that it improved disease-free survival for certain patients only by 2.3 months.
* Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK - news) rose 9.3 percent to $74.78 after the hamburger chain raised its full-year revenue forecast.
Futures snapshot at 7:25 a.m. ET (1125 GMT):
* S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.25 points, or 0.39 percent, with 112,006 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 21.5 points, or 0.49 percent, on volume of 21,543 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were up 71 points, or 0.39 percent, with 20,640 contracts changing hands. (Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)