* Dow Jones futures and S&P 500 futures rose 0.5 and 0.7 percent respectively on Thursday, suggesting scope for a recovery after Wednesday's losses. But Nasdaq futures were down 0.3 percent.
* The U.S. administration is weighing a roughly $40 billion proposal to help forestall housing foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reported. [ID:nBNG389655]
* After Wednesday's close, Amgen Inc shares jumped 7.5 percent to $53.40 when the biotech company reported quarterly earnings, while Amazon.com fell 13.4 percent and traded 13 percent lower in Frankfurt after the online retailer's fourth-quarter revenue expectations fell short of analyst expectations.
* U.S. stocks tumbled to 5-year lows on Wednesday as investors grappled with an increasingly dire outlook for the global economy following a raft of disappointing profits and outlooks for major U.S. companies.
* Major S&P 500 <.SPX> companies due to release earnings on Thursday include Microsoft , Bristol-Myers Squibb , Dow Chemical Co. , Eli Lilly and United Parcel Service .
* The Federal Reserve's Consumer Advisory Council meets at 1300 GMT to discuss the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies in Congress at 1400 GMT on "The Role of Federal Regulators".
