US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures are lower this morning, after the release of the FOMC minutes. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 63 points to 12,473.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 7.50 points to 1,328.80. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 11.25 points to 2,550.25. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.38% to 12,604.53, the S&P 500 index falling 0.02 points to 1,341.45 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.49% to 2,887.98. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Commerce Bancshares

is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $260.90 million. Fastenal Company

is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.37 on revenue of $807.65 million. Progressive

is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.27 on revenue of $4.13 billion. AngioDynamics

is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $52.97 million. Marriott International

posted a rise in its second-quarter earnings. Infosys Ltd

posted a 33% rise in its Q1 net profit and lowered its dollar revenue outlook for this fiscal year. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.72%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.67%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.60% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.79%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.48%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.46% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.70%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 2.03% India's Sensex fell 1.47%. Australia reported a rise in jobless claims. South Korea's central bank cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 3%. Brazil's central bank lowered benchmark interest rate to 8%. Nymex crude-oil futures dropped $0.94 to trade at $84.87 a barrel in electronic trade, while gold futures tumbled $9.60 to $1,566.10 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) rose 0.16% to trade at 83.61. The euro dropped 0.2% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2215. The US dollar fell 0.4% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥79.33.