Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, as market players awaited data due later in the session that could back some Federal Reserve officials' relatively optimistic views on the U.S. economy.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 68 points, or 0.39%, by 10:50GMT, or 6:50AM ET, the S&P 500 futures shed 10 points, or 0.47%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 23 points, or 0.53%.
The U.S. is to produce data on February durable goods orders at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET, on Thursday. The report is expected to show that orders for durable goods slumped 2.8% last month, following a gain of 4.7% in January, while core orders are forecast to inch down 0.2% after rising 1.7% a month earlier.
The weekly report on initial jobless claims is also due at 8:30AM ET, followed by the Markit Services PMI at 9:45AM ET.
Upbeat readings would help support the case for the Fed to steadily tighten monetary policy.
The market will also be paying attention to comment by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard to further judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes. Bullard is due to speak about the U.S. economy and monetary policy at the Association for Business Economics, in New York at 12:15GMT, or 8:15AM ET.
On Wednesday, Bullard suggested that a rate hike could come as soon as next month, following similarly hawkish comments from other U.S. policymakers earlier in the week.
Such comments have helped the dollar rebound from losses suffered last week when the U.S. central bank indicated caution towards the economy and reduced its rate hike projections for this year to two from four.
The stronger U.S. dollar weighed on commodities, such as oil and gold. Oil prices slumped to a one-week low, while gold futures tumbled to a four-week low.
Among active pre-market movers, shares of Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) and Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) surged ahead of the open after reports that the Federal Trade Commission may have used improper tactics in its investigation of their merger.
Global apparel retailer PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) saw shares pop more than 5% in pre-market trade after beating estimates for quarterly earnings and revenues late Wednesday.
KB Home (NYSE:KBH) soared 7% after the home builder posted better than expected quarterly earnings after Wednesday’s closing bell.
In other earnings news, Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL), Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), Signet Jewelers Ltd (NYSE:SIG), Winnebago Industries Inc (NYSE:WGO) and GameStop (NYSE:GME) are among companies due to report results on Thursday.
Elsewhere, European stocks were under pressure Thursday, amid speculation over a potential U.S. rate hike as soon as next month and as security concerns following this week’s Brussels terrorist attacks persisted.
Earlier, markets in Asia closed mostly lower following losses in U.S. equities overnight amid fresh declines in oil prices and concerns over a potential Fed hike in April.