U.S. futures lower as E.Z. concerns weigh; Dow Jones down 0.47%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, as fresh worries over the worsening of the euro zone's debt crisis dampened investor confidence.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.47% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.37% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% loss.

Sentiment was hit after Eurostat said euro zone gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 0.4% decline, after a 0.1% contraction in the third quarter.

Euro zone GDP fell 0.9% compared to a year earlier, worse than expectations for a 0.7% contraction, after shrinking at an annualized rate of 0.6% in the previous quarter.

Earlier in the day, official data showed larger-than-forecast contractions in German, French and Italian fourth quarter economic growth.

Airline stocks were expected to be active, after the boards of American Airlines and US Airways voted to merge, creating the world's largest carrier.

The chief executives of the two airlines were to formally announce the merger later on Thursday, at events in Dallas and Tempe, Arizona.

Separately, Boeing edged up 0.08% in after-hour trade, as the company denied misconduct by its managers after a union representing engineers and technical workers accused the plane maker's security staff of intimidating some members over labor contract votes.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that two test flights of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner have not revealed the cause of the battery malfunctions that grounded the jets, leaving it to focus on low-tech interim fixes.

Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, after Cisco Systems posted quarterly results that beat estimates on Wednesday, but CEO John Chambers warned the picture was mixed.

In the same sector, Applied Materials rallied 2.76% after hours, as the world's largest chip gear maker posted better-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by the popularity of smartphones and tablets.

Other stocks in focus included Agilent Technologies, PepsiCo, Molson Coors Brewing Company and CBS, all due to report earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.95%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.86%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.16%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.78%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.5%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.