Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, as sentiment remained on the back foot after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy-setting meeting showed the central bank is considering ending its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
U.S. data on consumer price inflation and jobless claims will also be in focus as investors seek more cues on the country's economic health.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.5% decline.
U.S. equities suffered heavy losses on Wednesday after the minutes of the Fed’s January meeting showed that policymakers discussed the slowing or stopping of bond purchases even before the job market improves, amid concerns that the policy could cause instability in financial markets.
Stock future indices came under additional pressure from a string of broadly negative euro zone data on manufacturing and service sector activity in February.
Market players now looked ahead to the release of official data on consumer price inflation as well as the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.
The U.S. was also to publish industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
In earnings news, Wal-Mart saw shares fall 0.7% in pre-market trade ahead of the release of the company’s earnings results before the opening bell.
Tesla Motors saw shares tumble 6% after reporting a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted loss after Wednesday’s closing bell.
Other stocks in focus included insurance giant American International Group and computer-maker Hewlett-Packard, which were both slated to report earnings after Thursday’s closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower, after the release of globally negative data from France and Germany, while speculation the Federal Reserve's may reduce its bond-buying program sooner than expected weighed.
Market players also remained wary ahead of the upcoming Italian general elections over the weekend, amid concerns that a hung parliament could hamper ongoing efforts at economic reforms.
The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2%, Germany's DAX rose 0.2%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 1.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index lost 1.4% amid concern the U.S. Federal Reserve may scale back stimulus and China may step up tightening.
U.S. data on consumer price inflation and jobless claims will also be in focus as investors seek more cues on the country's economic health.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.5% decline.
U.S. equities suffered heavy losses on Wednesday after the minutes of the Fed’s January meeting showed that policymakers discussed the slowing or stopping of bond purchases even before the job market improves, amid concerns that the policy could cause instability in financial markets.
Stock future indices came under additional pressure from a string of broadly negative euro zone data on manufacturing and service sector activity in February.
Market players now looked ahead to the release of official data on consumer price inflation as well as the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.
The U.S. was also to publish industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
In earnings news, Wal-Mart saw shares fall 0.7% in pre-market trade ahead of the release of the company’s earnings results before the opening bell.
Tesla Motors saw shares tumble 6% after reporting a larger-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted loss after Wednesday’s closing bell.
Other stocks in focus included insurance giant American International Group and computer-maker Hewlett-Packard, which were both slated to report earnings after Thursday’s closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower, after the release of globally negative data from France and Germany, while speculation the Federal Reserve's may reduce its bond-buying program sooner than expected weighed.
Market players also remained wary ahead of the upcoming Italian general elections over the weekend, amid concerns that a hung parliament could hamper ongoing efforts at economic reforms.
The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2%, Germany's DAX rose 0.2%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 1.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index lost 1.4% amid concern the U.S. Federal Reserve may scale back stimulus and China may step up tightening.