US Stock Futures Slightly Lower Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4 points to 14,412.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.10 points to 1,547.30. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 6 points to 2,779.75. US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.39% to 14,511.73, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.67% to 1,558.71 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.78% to 3,254.19. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit PMI manufacturing index (flash) for March will be released at 8:58 a.m. ET. The FHFA house price index for January will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on existing home sales for February, the general conditions index of the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey for March and the Conference Board's index of leading indicators for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The EIA weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET, while data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET. Oracle ORCL reported downbeat fiscal third-quarter results. Jabil Circuit JBL reported a 9% drop in its net income for the fiscal second quarter. Ross Stores ROST is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.07 per share on revenue of $2.74 billion. Nike NKE is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $6.23 billion. The Cato CATO is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $230.20 million. Lululemon Athletica LULU is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $482.95 million. Worthington Industries WOR is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.49 per share on revenue of $652.77 million. rue21 RUE is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.63 per share on revenue of $270.49 million. New York & Company NWY is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $287.16 million. Micron Technology MU is estimated to post a Q2 loss at $0.20 per share on revenue of $1.92 billion. TIBCO Software TIBX is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $242.45 million. Perry Ellis International PERY is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.49 per share on revenue of $258.32 million. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.54%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.73%, French CAC 40 Index declined 1.12% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.85%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumping 1.34%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.30% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tumbling 0.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.14% and India's Sensex tumbled 0.48%.