* U.S. stocks were set to open slightly higher on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session, with futures for the Dow Jones <DJc1>, the S&P 500 <SPc1> and the Nasdaq <NDc1> all up by around 0.1 percent by 0900 GMT.
* The S&P 500 <.SPX> is heading for its best December in nearly two decades. The index has gained 6.7 percent so far this month and rose in 17 of the last 20 sessions.
* Volumes, however, were expected to remain thin due to the year-end holiday period.
* The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index , due at 1445 GMT, is likely to give the market some direction.
* The index has been running hotter than most other manufacturing indicators but the gap is expected to have narrowed a bit in the December reading, with analysts forecasting a drop to 61.0 from 62.5 the month before.
* Other data likely to be closely watched include pending home sales for November, which is expected to show a slight dip, and weekly jobless claims which is seen extending a seasonal slide heading into the last week of December.
* In company news, U.S. health regulators have approved Endo Pharmaceuticals Holding inc <ENDP.O> and ProStrakan Group PLC's <PSK.L> Fortesta testosterone gel to treat men with low levels of the hormone. [ID:nN29289264]
* Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N> and the U.S. unit of Australia's Austal ltd <ASB.AX> won U.S. Navy contracts potentially worth more than $3.5 billion each to design and build up to a combined total of 20 coastal combat ships through 2015. [ID:nN29290028]
* a blizzard in the U.S. Northeast this weekend postponed about $1 billion in holiday retail sales by keeping shoppers away from stores in the days after Christmas, research firm ShopperTrak said. [ID:nN29280698]
* In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was slightly weaker in early trade, pausing for breath following a rally in December which has put equities on track to post their biggest monthly rise in 17 months.
Futures point to slight gains for Wall Street