US Stock Futures Down As Investors Await GM Earnings, Retail Sales Data, ECB Meeting; Lloyds Shares Drop In Pre-Market Trading

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from General Motors Co

, same-store sales data and a meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25 points to 12,647.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index declined 3.30 points to 1,339.70. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 4.25 points to 2,379.75. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 0.66% to 12,723.58, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declining 0.69% to 1,347.32 and the NASDAQ composite index dipping 0.47% to 2,828.23. Data on jobless claims for April and Q1 productivity data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give a speech on supervision at 9:30 a.m. ET. The European Central Bank is scheduled to make an announcement on interest rates at 7:45 a.m. ET. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's press conference will start at 8:30 a.m. ET. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC

dropped about 7.9% in pre-market trading after the bank swung to a loss. Sara Lee Corp

is estimated to post its Q3 EPS at $0.25 on revenue of $2.23 billion. General Motors Company is projected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.93 on revenue of $35.59 billion. Visa Inc

is expected to post its Q2 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $2.23 billion. Fluor Corp

is expected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.76 on revenue of $5.58 billion. Kraft Foods Inc

is expected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.47 on revenue of $12.33 billion. CVS Caremark Corp

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $25.87 billion. Fortune Brands Inc

is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.51 on revenue of $1.63 billion. priceline.com Inc

is expected to report its Q1 EPS at $2.45 on revenue of $779.18 million. DIRECTV

is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $6.23 billion. JDS Uniphase Corp

swung to a profit in the fiscal third quarter. The company reported its quarterly earnings at $38.6 million, or $0.16 per share, versus a loss of $11.9 million, or $0.05 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the company's earnings came in at $0.22 per share. The company's revenue jumped 86% to $454 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.20 per share on revenue of $448 million. The company projects its Q4 net revenue in the range of $455 million to $475 million. Electronic Arts Inc

reported a five-fold surge in its FQ4 net income. The company reported its quarterly earnings at $151 million, or $0.45 per share, up from $30 million, or $0.09 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's adjusted profit came in at $0.25 per share. The company's revenue increased 11% to $1.09 billion. EA's adjusted revenue surged to $995 million, from $850 million a year earlier. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $922.6 million. For the current quarter, EA projects an adjusted loss between $0.49 and $0.44 per share on adjusted revenue of $460 million to $500 million per share. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.34 per share on revenue of $557.1 million. Costco Wholesale Corp

reported a 12% surge in its April same-store sales. The company's net sales increased 17% to $6.8 billion from $5.83 billion in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting comparable sales to rise by 8.9%. The company's same-store sales increased 11% in the US. Excluding gasoline-price inflation and stronger foreign currencies, Costco's same-store sales increased 7%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.31% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.22%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.23% and India's Sensex fell 1.63%. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has declined 0.49%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.31%. The euro traded at $1.4832 versus the US dollar. Silver for July delivery dropped $0.70 to $38.69 an ounce. However, gold futures for June delivery fell 0.48%. Crude oil for June delivery declined $1.70 to $107.54 a barrel. Read more