Stocks: Jobs data on tap

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Investors head into Thursday awaiting several new economic reports and fresh developments in Cyprus.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as the Federal Reserve reiterated that its stimulus measures will remain in effect until the job market gets back on track.

The Fed said in its policy statement that it will continue buying $85 billion worth of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to help "make broader financial conditions more accommodative."

U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of the opening bell Thursday.

Fear & Greed Index

On Thursday, the government will release its weekly update on initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. The National Association of Realtors will publish data on existing home sales for February at 10:00, while the Conference Board will release its Leading Indicators Index and the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve will publish its monthly business outlook survey.

In corporate news, homebuilder KB Home (KBH) and lululemon athletica (LULU) are scheduled to release quarterly results in the morning. Nik (NKE, Fortune 500)e is up after the bell.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) sank in after-hours trading Wednesday after the tech giant reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations.

European markets were lower in morning trading, nervously awaiting news of a revised plan to prevent a financial collapse in Cyprus, while Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite added 0.3% and the Nikkei increased 1.3%, while the Hang Seng declined 0.1%.

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