US Stock Futures Continue To Dive Despite Positive Jobless Claims

U.S. stock futures remained under pressure on Thursday despite the government reporting better-than-expected data on the labor front. The decline continues the previous session’s steep losses.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Futures lost 162 points, or 1.01 percent, to 15,845.00; S&P 500 futures lost 21.50 points, or 1.16 percent, to 1,825.25; Nasdaq Composite futures were down 45 points, or 1.21 percent, to 3,706.75.

Data on Thursday revealed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a 14-year low last week, a positive signal for the U.S. labor market after weaker-than-anticipated retail sales, a decline in the Producer Price Index and a drop in New York manufacturing growth spurred initial volatility on Wednesday. The jobless claims report showed 264,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, fewer than the 290,000 forecast by economists.

Thursday also promises more economic data, including industrial production figures for September, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve survey and National Association of Home Builders sentiment survey.

Charles Plosser, head of the Philadelphia Fed, and with Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, are scheduled to give speeches about the U.S. economy Thursday morning. The Federal Reserve, which is winding down its economic stimulus program this month, released its Beige Book on Wednesday, the central bank’s view of current economic conditions in regions across the country. The Fed said the U.S. economy is seeing steady growth, with consumer spending improving at a “slight to moderate” pace. However, the Fed's views did little to calm market fears as the Dow closed the previous session with triple-digit losses.

“The market is certainly not going to have extra liquidity,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “Perhaps it’s going to be more of a reality market, as opposed to an unofficial one.”

Ahead on the earnings calendar, tech titian Google Inc. is scheduled to report quarterly results after U.S. markets close. Other notable events investors will be watching on Thursday include an Apple Inc. product announcement at 1 p.m. EST.