U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slight increase in equities on Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial average index <.DJI> pierced the 10,000 level in the previous session.

At 5.13 a.m. EDT, futures for the S&P 500 index, the Dow Jones Industrial average and Nasdaq were up 0.03 percent to 0.1 percent.

European shares were 0.4 percent higher on Thursday at 0851 GMT, with technology and financial stocks the biggest gainers.

Banking stocks will be in focus, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup announcing earnings results later in the day.

Analysts in a Reuters poll expect Goldman Sachs to earn $4.20 per share compared to $1.81 a year ago. Goldman Sachs is up 1.1 percent in Frankfurt.

Citigroup is expected to report a loss of 37 cents a share compared to 71 cents a year earlier. Citigroup is up 3 percent in Frankfurt.

Technology companies could be in the spotlight, with IBM reporting quarter-three earnings. Analysts in a Reuters poll expected the company to earn $2.38 per share compared to $2.05 a year earlier. IBM is up 0.1 percent in Frankfurt.

Google is to report third-quarter earnings, with earnings per share expected at $5.42 compared to $4.92 a year ago. Google is up 0.6 percent in Frankfurt.

Advanced Micro Devices is expected to report a third-quarter earnings per share loss of 45 cents compared to 18 cents a year ago.

Analysts in a Reuters poll expect Harley-Davidson to earn 23 cents per share compared to 76 cents a share a year earlier.

Safeway is reporting quarter-three numbers, with analysts in a Reuters poll expecting the company to earn 29 cents a shares, compared to 46 cents a year earlier.

The Labor Department releases the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 8.30 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect prices to have risen 0.2 percent compared with a 0.4 percent rise in August.

The New York Federal Reserve releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for October. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 18.00 compared with 18.88 in September.

Shares of Xilinx Inc rose 1.3 percent to $24.30 after the closing bell on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index <.DJI> pierced the 10,000 level on Wednesday for the first time in a year on surprisingly robust company results from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Intel Corp and better-than-expected retail sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 1.5 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> put on 1.5 percent.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

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