US Stock Futures Down; Jobless Claims Data In Focus

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 33 points to 13,020.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 4.10 points to 1,396.10. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 6.75 points to 2,761.25. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.54% to 13,126.21, the S&P 500 index dipping 0.49% to 1,405.54 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.49% to 3,104.96. Data on weekly initial jobless claims and a revised Q4 GDP reading will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Research in Motion Limited

is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.83 per share on revenue of $4.6 billion. Best Buy Co Inc

is projected to post its FQ4 earnings at $2.15 per share on revenue of $17.18 billion. TIBCO Software Inc

is expected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $222.36 million. Shaw Group Inc

is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $1.45 billion. Xyratex Ltd

is estimated to post its latest quarter earnings at $0.26 per share on revenue of $316.51 million. Movado Group Inc

is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.10 on revenue of $105.00 million. Cascade Corp

is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $1.09 on revenue of $128.48 million. Red Hat Inc

posted stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter profit. The Mosaic Co

reported a downbeat fiscal third-quarter profit. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.68%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.87%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.01% and German DAX 30 index dipped 1.01%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.67%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.43% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.21%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.32% and India's Sensex fell 0.18%. Nymex crude-oil futures dropped $0.44 to $104.97 a barrel in electronic trade. Gold futures declined $3.30 to $1,654.60 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.07% to 79.21.