US Stock Futures Down; Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting data on weekly jobless claims and manufacturing activity. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 49 points to 11,554.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 6.90 points to 1,210.80. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 7.50 points to 2,233.25. US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.46% to 11,613.53, the S&P 500 index rising 0.49% to 1,218.89 and the Nasdaq 100 index jumping 0.13% to 2,579.46. Data on weekly jobless claims and second-quarter productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US ISM manufacturing index will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Quiksilver Inc ZQK is expected to report its FQ3 EPS at $0.08 on revenue of $472.18 million. UTi Worldwide Inc UTIW is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.21 on revenue of $1.25 billion. Ciena Corporation CIEN is estimated to post a Q2 loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $443.25 million. Charming Shoppes Inc CHRS is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $500.22 million. Finisar Corporation FNSR is estimated to report its FQ1 EPS at $0.18 on revenue of $228.34 million. Methode Electronics Inc MEI is projected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.10 on revenue of $110.30 million. Met-Pro Corporation MPR is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.13 on revenue of $24.28 million. Coldwater Creek Inc CWTR swung to a second-quarter loss. The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ swung to a second-quarter profit, from a loss in the year-ago period. However, the company issued downbeat forecast for the current quarter. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.64%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.45%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.08% and German DAX 30 index dropped 1.95%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.1792%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.29% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.44%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1792%. The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.47% to 74.49, versus 74.162 in North American trade late Wednesday. Gold futures for December delivery dropped $12.80 to $1,818.90 an ounce. However, crude oil for October delivery declined $0.34 to $88.47 a barrel.