US Stock Futures Flat; ECB, Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting an interest-rate decision from the European Central Bank. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 12,866.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 0.90 points to 1,388.20. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.75 points to 2,609.25. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 2.36% to 12,932.73, the S&P 500 index falling 2.37% to 1,394.53 and the Nasdaq 100 index dropping 2.48% to 2,937.29. Data on weekly jobless claims and September trade deficit will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The ECB is likely to announce its interest-rate decision at 7:45 a.m. ET. Advance Auto Parts AAP is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.22 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion. Dean Foods Company DF is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.28 on revenue of $3.23 billion. PPL PPL is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.68 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Lions Gate Entertainment LGF is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $0.13 on revenue of $623.32 million. Walt Disney Co DIS is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.68 on revenue of $10.92 billion. Nordstrom JWN is projected to post its Q3 EPS at $0.72 on revenue of $2.80 billion. The Wendy's Company WEN is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.05 per share on revenue of $639.60 million. Tim Hortons THI is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.72 on revenue of $797.78 million. NVIDIA NVDA is projected to post its Q3 EPS at $0.30 on revenue of $1.19 billion. Kohl's KSS is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $4.49 billion. Public Storage PSA is expected to post its Q3 EPS at $1.68 on revenue of $434.99 million. Groupon GRPN is expected to post its Q3 EPS at $0.04 on revenue of $591.68 million. Qualcomm QCOM posted upbeat fourth-quarter results. Whole Foods Market WFM posted a 49% rise in its fiscal fourth quarter profit. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index surged 0.07%, London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.21%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.30% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.28%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.51%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.63% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.71%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.41% and India's Sensex declined 0.30%. Gold for December delivery gained $3.70 to trade at $1,718 an ounce. Crude for December delivery gained $0.62 to $85.06 a barrel on Globex. The dollar index (DXY) rose 0.2% to trade at 80.94.