Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mildly lower open on Thursday, as concerns over further budgetary battles facing the U.S. came into focus, while investors eyed the release of U.S. employment data.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.2% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% drop.
U.S. equities soared on Wednesday after U.S. lawmakers passed a compromise bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, blocking a series of looming tax increases and spending cuts that could have pushed the U.S. economy back into a recession.
However, investors remained jittery over the longer term outlook, with negotiations on raising the U.S. debt ceiling still to come in February.
Echoing the growing nervousness over the debt ceiling debate, a spokesman from the International Monetary Fund warned that "more remains to be done" to lower the U.S. debt load.
Meanwhile, rating agency Moody's said Wednesday that avoiding the fiscal cliff was only the first in a number of steps needed to ensure that the U.S. kept its coveted triple-A rating.
Standard & Poor's, which downgraded the U.S. to AA+ from AAA in August 2011, said the deal had done little to alter the country's negative credit outlook.
Market players looked ahead to a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls, as well as weekly government data on initial jobless claims. In addition, the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its most recent policy-setting meeting.
At that meeting, the Fed pledged to keep interest rates at near-zero levels so long as the unemployment rate is above 6.5% and provided inflation in the year or two ahead is below 2.5%.
Friday’s highly-anticipated data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls was also in focus, as investors attempt to gauge the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
Warehouse retailer Costco was likely to be in focus after reporting net sales rose 12% in December to USD11.2 billion. Same-store sales climbed 9%, above expectations for a 6.5% increase.
In company news, GAP shares declined 0.7% in pre-market trade after the clothing retailer said it agreed to acquire women’s fashion boutique firm Intermix in a deal valued at USD130 million.
Meanwhile, data-storage firm Mellanox Technologies saw shares plunge 17.5% after the company lowered its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mildly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.5%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.3%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.1%.
Earlier in the session, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose less-than-expected in December, rising by 3,000 after a 5,000 increase the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to rise by 10,000 in December.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was closed for a national holiday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.2% at the open, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.3% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% drop.
U.S. equities soared on Wednesday after U.S. lawmakers passed a compromise bill to avoid the fiscal cliff, blocking a series of looming tax increases and spending cuts that could have pushed the U.S. economy back into a recession.
However, investors remained jittery over the longer term outlook, with negotiations on raising the U.S. debt ceiling still to come in February.
Echoing the growing nervousness over the debt ceiling debate, a spokesman from the International Monetary Fund warned that "more remains to be done" to lower the U.S. debt load.
Meanwhile, rating agency Moody's said Wednesday that avoiding the fiscal cliff was only the first in a number of steps needed to ensure that the U.S. kept its coveted triple-A rating.
Standard & Poor's, which downgraded the U.S. to AA+ from AAA in August 2011, said the deal had done little to alter the country's negative credit outlook.
Market players looked ahead to a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls, as well as weekly government data on initial jobless claims. In addition, the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its most recent policy-setting meeting.
At that meeting, the Fed pledged to keep interest rates at near-zero levels so long as the unemployment rate is above 6.5% and provided inflation in the year or two ahead is below 2.5%.
Friday’s highly-anticipated data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls was also in focus, as investors attempt to gauge the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
Warehouse retailer Costco was likely to be in focus after reporting net sales rose 12% in December to USD11.2 billion. Same-store sales climbed 9%, above expectations for a 6.5% increase.
In company news, GAP shares declined 0.7% in pre-market trade after the clothing retailer said it agreed to acquire women’s fashion boutique firm Intermix in a deal valued at USD130 million.
Meanwhile, data-storage firm Mellanox Technologies saw shares plunge 17.5% after the company lowered its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mildly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.5%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.3%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.1%.
Earlier in the session, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany rose less-than-expected in December, rising by 3,000 after a 5,000 increase the previous month.
Analysts had expected the number of unemployed people to rise by 10,000 in December.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was closed for a national holiday.