Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Thursday, tracking losses in Asian and European markets as the Bank of Japan’s surprise decision not to launch more stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy caught traders off guard.
The blue-chip Dow futures sank 139 points, or 0.77%, by 10:49GMT, or 6:49AM ET, the S&P 500 futures slumped 16 points, or 0.74%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 20 points, or 0.45%.
Appetite for riskier assets took a hit after the BoJ dealt a surprise blow to markets by offering no additional stimulus at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Thursday.
The Nikkei 225 index plunged 3.6% while the U.S. dollar fell to as low as 107.93 against the yen before rising back to 108.14, down nearly 3% for the day.
The greenback was already on the defensive after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged following its two-day meeting on Wednesday and issued a statement implying it was in no hurry to raise rates.
Offering little hope of a move in June, the Fed said U.S. "economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate."
Market analysts expect two more rate hikes this year but futures prices show traders do not expect a hike until at least September, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool.
With the Fed meeting out of the way, attention now shifts to first-quarter U.S. economic growth data due later in the session, amid expectations for an expansion of 0.7%.
Among active pre-market movers, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)'s shares jumped more than 8% after the social media company reported more active users and posted quarterly earnings that were well above analyst estimates.
PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) tacked on almost 2% after the payment technology firm reported better-than-anticipated quarterly results after Wednesday’s closing bell, thanks to the addition of new merchants.
U.S.-listed shares of German banking giant Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) popped 3.4% as first-quarter net income beat analysts' expectations despite being pressured by difficult market conditions.
Companies slated to release quarterly earnings ahead of Thursday’s opening bell include Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), while Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) and Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) will post numbers after Wall Street closes.
Meanwhile, oil prices pulled back slightly from the prior session’s five-month highs after data showed that U.S. oil supplies rose to an all-time high last week, underlining concerns over a supply glut.
U.S. crude was at around $45.33 a barrel after rallying to $45.62 on Wednesday, the most since November 6, while Brent oil was at $46.85, compared to $47.20 a day earlier.