Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.40% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% decline.
Investors remained cautious ahead of Bernanke’s speech, amid ongoing speculation over how close the Fed may be to implementing more economic stimulus measures.
Revised data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 1.7% in the second quarter, up from the initial estimate of 1.5% and in line with expectations, on the back of higher consumer spending.
A separate report showed that U.S. pending home sales rose to the highest level since April 2010 in July, increasing by 2.4% after declining 1.4% the previous month.
Tech stocks were expected to be active after Samsung Electronics became the first handset maker to announce a smartphone using Microsoft's latest mobile software, making a surprise announcement only days before the launch of Nokia's own version. Shares in rival U.S. company Apple dropped 0.50% in pre-market trade.
The pharmaceutical industry was also likely to be in focus, as Genmab agreed a deal estimated at more than USD1.1 billion with a unit of Johnson & Johnson for the rights to a cancer agent, giving the U.S. company a 10.7% stake in the Danish biotech group.
Elsewhere in corporate news, U.S. lender Citigroup reportedly agreed to pay USD590 million to pay a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets.
The agreement was said to be one of the largest settlements on record stemming from the global financial crisis and sent shares in Citigroup down 0.70% in early trading.
Among earnings, Internet radio service Pandora Media said late Wednesday that it broke even on an earnings-per-share basis in the second quarter, sending shares surging 12.60% pre-market.
Separately, TiVo saw shares gain 5.77% in early trading, after the digital-video recorder pioneer, posted a second-quarter loss that was smaller than analysts estimated after signing more new subscribers.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.53%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.84%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.19%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.95%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on personal consumption expenditures and personal spending.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.40% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% decline.
Investors remained cautious ahead of Bernanke’s speech, amid ongoing speculation over how close the Fed may be to implementing more economic stimulus measures.
Revised data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 1.7% in the second quarter, up from the initial estimate of 1.5% and in line with expectations, on the back of higher consumer spending.
A separate report showed that U.S. pending home sales rose to the highest level since April 2010 in July, increasing by 2.4% after declining 1.4% the previous month.
Tech stocks were expected to be active after Samsung Electronics became the first handset maker to announce a smartphone using Microsoft's latest mobile software, making a surprise announcement only days before the launch of Nokia's own version. Shares in rival U.S. company Apple dropped 0.50% in pre-market trade.
The pharmaceutical industry was also likely to be in focus, as Genmab agreed a deal estimated at more than USD1.1 billion with a unit of Johnson & Johnson for the rights to a cancer agent, giving the U.S. company a 10.7% stake in the Danish biotech group.
Elsewhere in corporate news, U.S. lender Citigroup reportedly agreed to pay USD590 million to pay a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets.
The agreement was said to be one of the largest settlements on record stemming from the global financial crisis and sent shares in Citigroup down 0.70% in early trading.
Among earnings, Internet radio service Pandora Media said late Wednesday that it broke even on an earnings-per-share basis in the second quarter, sending shares surging 12.60% pre-market.
Separately, TiVo saw shares gain 5.77% in early trading, after the digital-video recorder pioneer, posted a second-quarter loss that was smaller than analysts estimated after signing more new subscribers.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.53%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.84%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.19%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.95%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on personal consumption expenditures and personal spending.