U.S. stock futures slip after markets registered advances in nine of the last 11 sessions, with the housing market returning to the spotlight as Home Depot reports signs of stabilization. Target and Exxon Mobil also merit pre-open attention from investors.

Lazard Ltd. on Tuesday said Kenneth Jacobs will be its new chairman and chief executive effective immediately, replacing Bruce Wasserstein, who died last month.

Bruce Wasserstein left the game early and without his familiar figure, the deal making landscape won’t be the same, David Weidner writes.

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday’s session are AMD, Baxter, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Google, IBM, Lazard, New York Times, Nokia, Polaris, and Xilinx.

U.S. stock futures held steady Thursday ahead of a gamut of earnings from giants like Citigroup, Nokia and Goldman Sachs and a host of economic releases including inflation and two key regional indexes.