Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday, weighed by mounting expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its bond buying program before the year end.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% fall.
U.S. equities remaied under pressure after data on Tuesday showing that service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster than expected pace in October supported the view that the Fed could start scaling back stimulus as soon as next month.
But uncertainty remained, as Fed officials on Monday indicated that the bank is likely to keep its stimulus program in place for some time to come.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said bank should keep its asset purchase program in place until there is "compelling evidence of a sustainable recovery making satisfactory progress toward full employment."
Investors were likely to focus on Twitter's debut on the stock market after the company priced its IPO above expectations on Wednesday. The offering of 70 million shares is priced at USD26, valuing the company at USD14.1 billion.
Among earnings, CBS Corp. reported late Wednesday a 22% increase in third-quarter profit, helped by sales of shows to streaming services from Netflixand Amazon.com. Shares were still down 0.54% in pre-market trade.
Activision Blizzard plummeted 2.42% in late trading after the video-game publisher posted third-quarter profit that beat market estimates, while the forecast for this quarter fell short.
Qualcomm was also on the downside in extended trading, plunging 3.56%, after the maker of chips for smartphones forecast fiscal first-quarter sales that may fall short of analysts’ estimates, due to a shift to less-expensive handsets that has lowered chip prices.
Other companies expected to be in focus included Disney, Priceline.com, Groupon and Great Plains Energy, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.12%, Germany's DAX inched 0.05% higher, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.68%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.76%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a preliminary estimate of third quarter gross domestic product, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% fall.
U.S. equities remaied under pressure after data on Tuesday showing that service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster than expected pace in October supported the view that the Fed could start scaling back stimulus as soon as next month.
But uncertainty remained, as Fed officials on Monday indicated that the bank is likely to keep its stimulus program in place for some time to come.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said bank should keep its asset purchase program in place until there is "compelling evidence of a sustainable recovery making satisfactory progress toward full employment."
Investors were likely to focus on Twitter's debut on the stock market after the company priced its IPO above expectations on Wednesday. The offering of 70 million shares is priced at USD26, valuing the company at USD14.1 billion.
Among earnings, CBS Corp. reported late Wednesday a 22% increase in third-quarter profit, helped by sales of shows to streaming services from Netflixand Amazon.com. Shares were still down 0.54% in pre-market trade.
Activision Blizzard plummeted 2.42% in late trading after the video-game publisher posted third-quarter profit that beat market estimates, while the forecast for this quarter fell short.
Qualcomm was also on the downside in extended trading, plunging 3.56%, after the maker of chips for smartphones forecast fiscal first-quarter sales that may fall short of analysts’ estimates, due to a shift to less-expensive handsets that has lowered chip prices.
Other companies expected to be in focus included Disney, Priceline.com, Groupon and Great Plains Energy, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.29%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.12%, Germany's DAX inched 0.05% higher, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.68%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.76%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a preliminary estimate of third quarter gross domestic product, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims.