Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a weaker start for Wall Street on Thursday after equities surged in the previous session after U.S. lawmakers reached a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

European shares were moving slightly lower while Asian stocks ended mostly in the green. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1% to 23,398.98. Japanese markets are closed for an extended holiday and will reopen on Friday.

The economic calendar in the U.S. Thursday includes Automatic Data Processing's employment report at 8:15 a.m. EST, jobless claims from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m., and the Institute for Supply Management December index of regional business activity for New York at 9:45 a.m.

U.S. stocks on Wednesday soared as global risk appetite surged on the first trading day of the year after the House managed to pass the Senate's 11th-hour agreement on averting the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 308 points, or 2.4%, to 13,413. It was the biggest single-day gain for the Dow since Nov. 19.

The S&P 500 gained 36 points, or 2.5%, to 1,462. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 93 points, or 3.1%, to 3112.

Apple (AAPL) has set its first-quarter earnings release for Jan. 23, with a conference call the same day to discuss the results.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) appointed Devinder Kumar as its chief financial officer after a four-month search.

Mellanox Technologies (MLNX) , the data-storage company, on Wednesday reduced its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.

Costco Wholesale(COST) , the warehouse retailer, posted a same-store sales increase of 9% in December, higher than analysts' expectations.

Automakers, including Ford (F) and General Motors(GM) , are expected to post December sales results on Thursday.