By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures advanced on Thursday, following a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine and surprising stimulus measures by Sweden's central bank.* Leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, potentially removing a concern for investors.* Also helping to lift futures was a decision by Sweden's Riksbank to introduce negative interest rates and launch bond purchases, while saying it could take further steps to fight falling prices.* Stocks may get a boost from Cisco Systems , which jumped 6.7 percent to $28.72 before the opening bell after the network equipment maker reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit.* But Tesla Motors dropped 8.6 percent to $194.50 in premarket after the electric-car maker missed fourth-quarter sales targets and analysts' profit expectations.* Talks over Greek debt with euro zone finance ministers failed to yield an agreement, with negotiations set to continue on Monday.* Investors anticipate weekly initial jobless claims data and January retail sales at 8:30 a.m. Claims are expected to rise to 285,000 from 278,000 in the prior week, while retail sales are expected to have dropped 0.5 percent.* December business inventories data is expected later in the session at 10:00 a.m., with expectations for a rise of 0.2 percent.* Thomson Reuters data showed that 72.4 percent of the 352 S&P 500 components that have reported earnings beat expectations, above the 69 percent in the past four quarters. The earnings growth rate for the quarter stands at 6.7 percent.* European shares advanced, as several indexes touched multi-year highs in the wake of the Ukraine peace deal and Swedish stimulus measures.* Asian stocks dipped amid caution over the Greek debt negotiations.Futures snapshot at 7:33 a.m. EST:* S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.47 percent, with 176,955 contracts changing hands.* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 22 points, or 0.51 percent, in volume of 31,808 contracts.* Dow e-minis were up 84 points, or 0.47 percent, with 25,672 contracts changing hands.(Editing by Bernadette Baum)Join the conversation about this story »
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