U.S> stock futures pointed to a lower open Thursday ahead of a batch of data, including the weekly jobless claims report.
The S&P 500 Futures were down 6.75 points to 1858.00 points while the Nasdaq Futures fell 16.20 points to 3574.80 points.
The Labor Department's report at 8.30 a.m. Eastern may show initial jobless claims fell to 320,000 in the week ended April 5 from 326,000 in the previous week.
The impost price index is also due at the same time, followed by Bloomberg consumer confidence data at 9.45 a.m., and the Federal budget balance at 2.00 p.m.
Alcoa was down half a percent in pre-market moves. The stock ended 3.8% higher yesterday.
Bed Bath & Beyond tumbled 5.7% before the opening bell. The retailer's earnings projections fell short of estimates.
Also ahead of the opening bell, FireEye fell 2.9% after peer group firm Imperva reported a greater-than-expected preliminary loss. Imperva shares plunged over 35%.
Costco shares were up 0.7% after it said same store-sales rose 5% for the five-week period ended April 6.
Family Dollar, Rite Aid, and Pier 1 are set to report results today.
Earlier, Asian markets ended higher even as investors shrugged off weak Chinese trade data. European markets had reversed opening gains and were down midmorning.