US Stock Futures Down; Jobless Claims Data In Focus

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless-claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 32 points to 12,763.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 1 point to 1,350.00. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 8.75 points to 2,610.50.
 
US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.75% to 12,835.06, the S&P 500 index declining 0.67% to 1,354.58 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.39% to 2,934.71.
 
Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. March trade data and the import-price index for April will also be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal budget figures for April will be released at 2 p.m. ET.
 
Kohl's Corp (NYSE: KSS) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.60 per share on sales of $4.24 billion. Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.75 on revenue of $2.52 billion. Darling International Inc (NYSE: DAR) is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.30 on revenue of $410.78 million.
 
Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) is projected to post a Q1 loss at $0.71 per share on revenue of $323.5 million. Liberty Global Inc (NASDAQ: LBTYA) is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.18 on revenue of $2.54 billion.
 
McDermott International Inc (NYSE: MDR) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $834.83 million. AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ: AMCX) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.45 per share on revenue of $303.9 million.
 
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) issued a weak forecast for the fiscal fourth quarter. Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) raised its profit forecast for the full year.
 
News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results.
European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.52%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.43%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.52% and German DAX 30 index declined 0.18%.
 
Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declining 0.39%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.07% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.50%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.51% and India's Sensex dropped 0.29%.
 
The euro gained 0.07% against the dollar to trade at $1.2939, versus $1.2954 in late trade Wednesday.
 
The Dollar Index (DXY) gained 0.02% to 80.1, versus 80.083 in late trade Wednesday.

By Monica Gerson