Investing.com - U.S. futures were mixed on Thursday as gloom from the manufacturing sector vied with more upbeat reports from the likes of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).
3M (NYSE:MMM) surged 3.4% after its earnings came in better than expected, while Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) slumped 3.3% after it missed expectations.
Tech stocks will be in focus after the close, when Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) report earnings. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is also expected to report later in the day.
Nasdaq 100 futures lost 25 points or 0.3% by 7:02 AM ET (11:02 GMT), while Dow futures gained 60 points or 0.2% and S&P 500 futures fell half a point or 0.1%.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) jumped 1.1% in premarket trade after the social media giant posted a profit that put its $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission for privacy violations into a broader context. Earnings of $2.6 billion (after a $2 billion charge for the FTC fine) beat expectations, but executives warned revenue growth could slow in the coming quarters.
Other internet platform giants were still under pressure a day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it is investigating if big technology companies are engaged in anti-competitive behavior.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also slumped 12% after it pushed back its timeline for making a profit, while reporting a bigger-than-expected net loss in the quarter.
On the economic front, jobless claims and durable goods orders are out at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).
The European Central Bank is expected either to cut its key interest rate at 7:45 AM ET (11:45 GMT), or at least point to a cut in September, as weak Eurozone business surveys this week have strengthen the case for easier monetary policy.
The ECB would be just the latest of the world's central banks to ease policy in the face of a slowdown in global growth. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates next week.
In commodities, crude oil gained 1% to $56.45 a barrel. Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,426.55 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 97.417, having hit a one-month high of 97.510 overnight as Australia's central bank governor talked his currency down and fears for a No-Deal Brexit continued to weigh on the British pound.