US futures down, economic data eyed

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening on Thursday ahead of economic data, including weekly jobless claims and existing home sales.

Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.12 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.14 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are down 0.01 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on initial jobless claims and existing home sales to gauge the strength of recovery in the world’s largest economy.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is due to report the sales of previously occupied homes before market opens. Economists are forecasting that existing home sales in December may rise to 4.8 million from 4.68 million in the previous month.

The Department of Labor is due to report the initial jobless claims data at 8:30 am EDT. Economists forecast initial jobless claims to be 425,000 for the week ended January 15 against 445,000 of the previous week. Any data that is weaker than expected will weigh on market sentiments.

The earnings season gathers momentum with Google set to report its quarterly results after the closing bell. Analysts, on average, polled by Thomson Reuters expect the search engine giant to report fourth quarter earnings per share of $8.09 from $6.79 last year.

Advanced Micro Devices, Capital One Financial Corp, Huntington Bancshares, International Game Technology and Intuitive Surgical are also set to report their quarterly numbers on Thursday.

On Wednesday, US stocks sold off as disappointing results from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) dragged down the financial services sector, as the indices endured their worst one-day price drop since November.

The euro advanced 0.18 percent to 1.3498 against the dollar while the greenback advanced 0.22 percent against the yen.

Crude oil futures fell 0.42 percent to $90.48/barrel and gold futures declined 0.47 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading lower with FTSE 100 down by 59.65 points, DAX30 down by 22.21 points and CAC 40 down by 4.98 points.