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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were struggling to hold modest gains early Thursday as Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke gave a lukewarm assessment of the economy, and investors kept a wary eye on Greece's debt talks.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 8 points, or 0.1%, in early trading. The S&P 500 (SPX) added 3 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq (COMP) rose 12 points, or 0.4%.

Merck (MRK, Fortune 500), which reported weaker-than-expected sales growth, and Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) were the biggest drags on the Dow. But the blue-chip average was supported by Alcoa, (AA, Fortune 500) AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500).

Investors remain on the lookout for an official agreement on a debt-reduction plan and second bailout for Greece. The deal is expected to come by the end of the week, though deadlines have been missed in the past.

Back in the United States, Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill to testify about the Fed's economic outlook before the House Budget Committee at 10 a.m. ET. Investors will be tuning in to get more clarity on central bank's pledge last week to keep interest rates ultra low until the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, the technology sector was basking in the after-glow of Facebook's long-awaited IPO filing, which came after the closing bell Wednesday. The social network's valuation is still speculative until it actually starts trading, but it's attempting to raise $5 billion with its IPO.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, but closed off the highs of the day, on a combination of improved economic data and easing concerns about Europe's debt crisis.

Economy: Initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 28 totaled 367,000, according to the government. They were expected to total 375,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.

Data released Thursday morning from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows planned job cuts surged 28% in January to 53,486 -- marking the highest total since 116,000 job cuts announced in September.

The Challenger report follows data Wednesday from payroll processor ADP saying that the private sector added 170,000 jobs in January, down sharply from 292,000 in December.

The government's highly anticipated jobs report due out Friday morning, is expected to show the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, according to economists surveyed by CNNMoney.

That would mark a sharp slowdown in hiring versus December, when 200,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.6%.

Companies: Retailers will report same-store sales throughout the day.

Abercrombie & Fitch's (ANF) stock fell after the clothing retailer reported weak same-store sales for the latest quarter and lowered its earnings guidance.

Zynga (ZNGA) shares rallied following Facebook's IPO filing. Zynga's gaming apps and advertising contributed about 12% of Facebook revenue last year.

Sony (SNE) shares fell after the company reported disappointing earnings and revenue.

Unilever (UN) shares slumped after the maker of Lipton teas, Dove soaps and other consumer products said it had difficulty passing higher raw material costs on to consumers last year, and announced a gloomy outlook for 2012.

Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500), a company that sells chips used in cell phones, boosted its forecast for its 2012 performance.

Viacom (VIAB, Fortune 500) shares fell after the media giant reported better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal first quarter, but cited ratings weakness and softness in the U.S. television advertising market. Its film division swung to an operating loss in the quarter.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) shares jumped after the company reported its first-quarter revenue soared 102% compared to a year earlier, boosted by K-Cup sales.

World markets: European stocks were little changed in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) edged lower 0.1%, while the DAX (DAX) in Germany added 0.2% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) was flat.

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) climbed 2%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong added 2% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) rose 0.8%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound, but fell versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for March delivery slipped 46 cents to $97.15 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery added $2.10 to $1,751.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.83%.  

First Published: February 2, 2012: 9:41 AM ET