Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were lower on Thursday, as Wednesday’s weak U.S. economic data continued to weigh on sentiment and investors eyed the release of a jobless claims report for signs of further recovery in the U.S. employment sector.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.18%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.17% loss.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday that durable goods orders rose 2.2% in February, partially reversing the previous month’s revised 3.6% decline, but falling short of expectations for a 3.0% increase.
Meanwhile, markets were jittery as euro zone ministers were expected to decide at a meeting in Copenhagen on Friday to run the EUR500 billion permanent European Stability Mechanism alongside the EUR200 billion committed by the temporary fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
Financial stocks were expected to be active following broad losses posted earlier by European lenders. In pre-market trade, Bank of America shares retreated 0.41% and JP Morgan lost 0.48%.
Bank of America said Wednesday evening that it more than quadrupled what it paid its CEO Brian Moynihan in 2011 but added that it's likely to curtail Moynihan's pay this year, reflecting the company's rocky performance in 2011.
Gene sequencing company Illumina was also slated to be in focus after Roche Holding hiked its cash bid for the U.S. firm to USD6.7 billion, as the Swiss drug maker sought to win over shareholders before Illumina's annual meeting next month.
In the tech sector, Red Hat Inc's quarterly profit beat expectations for the fifth straight quarter on higher subscription revenue, sending shares up 9.46% in pre-market trade. The business software maker also said it will buy back USD300 million of its shares.
Meanwhile, water technologies firm Pentair fell 0.43% after reaching a USD4.6 billion stock deal to absorb Tyco International Ltd's flow-control business, roughly doubling Pentair's size.
Applied Materials, a semiconductor producer, forecast 2012 results below targets and said it will cut costs to offset a persistent downturn in solar and display markets. Shares rose 0.16% in after hour trade.
Other stocks in focus included electronics retailer Best Buy, due to report quarterly results later in the day.
The company was also expected to discuss whether market share gains came at the expense of margins after it offered deep discounts in the 2011 holiday season.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.17%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.90%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.09%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.77%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims and final data on fourth quarter gross domestic product. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was also due to speak.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.18%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.17% loss.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday that durable goods orders rose 2.2% in February, partially reversing the previous month’s revised 3.6% decline, but falling short of expectations for a 3.0% increase.
Meanwhile, markets were jittery as euro zone ministers were expected to decide at a meeting in Copenhagen on Friday to run the EUR500 billion permanent European Stability Mechanism alongside the EUR200 billion committed by the temporary fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
Financial stocks were expected to be active following broad losses posted earlier by European lenders. In pre-market trade, Bank of America shares retreated 0.41% and JP Morgan lost 0.48%.
Bank of America said Wednesday evening that it more than quadrupled what it paid its CEO Brian Moynihan in 2011 but added that it's likely to curtail Moynihan's pay this year, reflecting the company's rocky performance in 2011.
Gene sequencing company Illumina was also slated to be in focus after Roche Holding hiked its cash bid for the U.S. firm to USD6.7 billion, as the Swiss drug maker sought to win over shareholders before Illumina's annual meeting next month.
In the tech sector, Red Hat Inc's quarterly profit beat expectations for the fifth straight quarter on higher subscription revenue, sending shares up 9.46% in pre-market trade. The business software maker also said it will buy back USD300 million of its shares.
Meanwhile, water technologies firm Pentair fell 0.43% after reaching a USD4.6 billion stock deal to absorb Tyco International Ltd's flow-control business, roughly doubling Pentair's size.
Applied Materials, a semiconductor producer, forecast 2012 results below targets and said it will cut costs to offset a persistent downturn in solar and display markets. Shares rose 0.16% in after hour trade.
Other stocks in focus included electronics retailer Best Buy, due to report quarterly results later in the day.
The company was also expected to discuss whether market share gains came at the expense of margins after it offered deep discounts in the 2011 holiday season.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.17%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.90%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.09%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.77%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims and final data on fourth quarter gross domestic product. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was also due to speak.