[h=3]By TOMI KILGORE And MATT JARZEMSKY[/h]NEW YORK—U.S. stock futures erased earlier gains as a European Central Bank press conference disappointed investors, although U.S. employment data topped expectations.
Less than an hour before the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 41 points, or 0.3%, to 12882. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures lost 6 points, or 0.5%, to 1364 and Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 12 points, or 0.4%, to 2614.
Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.
The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits rose to 365,000 last week, a smaller increase than economists had expected, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. The prior week's figure was revised higher.
At 10 a.m., a report on factory orders for June is seen showing a rise of 0.5% from the previous month, following a 0.7% gain in June.
Shares of Knight Trading plunged 58% in premarket trading, looking to extend Wednesday's 33% decline to a nine-year low. The company said a glitch that affected the trading of about 150 stocks Wednesday will likely cost the brokerage firm $440 million.
Asian markets closed mixed ahead of the ECB announcement, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average adding 0.1% and China's Shanghai Composite losing 0.6%.
Early indications showed that most U.S. retailers posting July same-store sales have beaten expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. Gap jumped 7.6% in premarket trading after reporting a 10% surge in July same-store sales, sharply higher than analysts had forecast, and projecting better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. Costco Wholesale edged up 0.6% after its same-store sales also topped predictions.
But Abercrombie & Fitch slid 13% after the apparel retailer indicated it would miss fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates provided by FactSet and lowered its full-year earnings outlook, citing a lower sales trend that previously expected.
Hewlett-Packard gained 1% after a state court judge in California ruled in favor the company in its litigation against Oracle, saying Oracle is obligated to develop software for server systems sold by H-P. Oracle declined 1.1%.
General Motors added 1% after the car maker reported second-quarter earning that exceeded estimates, although revenue fell short.
First Solar surged 19% after the company reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that were well above analyst forecasts and raised its full-year outlook.
Yelp rose 6.3% after the local listings site reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss and raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Halozyme Therapeutics tumbled 55% after the company said the Food and Drug Administration issued a letter seeking more information on a immunodeficiency treatment developed by Baxter that uses Halozyme's technology. Baxter was still inactive in the premarket.
Write to Tomi Kilgore at [email protected]
Less than an hour before the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 41 points, or 0.3%, to 12882. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures lost 6 points, or 0.5%, to 1364 and Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 12 points, or 0.4%, to 2614.
Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.
The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits rose to 365,000 last week, a smaller increase than economists had expected, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. The prior week's figure was revised higher.
At 10 a.m., a report on factory orders for June is seen showing a rise of 0.5% from the previous month, following a 0.7% gain in June.
Shares of Knight Trading plunged 58% in premarket trading, looking to extend Wednesday's 33% decline to a nine-year low. The company said a glitch that affected the trading of about 150 stocks Wednesday will likely cost the brokerage firm $440 million.
Asian markets closed mixed ahead of the ECB announcement, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average adding 0.1% and China's Shanghai Composite losing 0.6%.
Early indications showed that most U.S. retailers posting July same-store sales have beaten expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. Gap jumped 7.6% in premarket trading after reporting a 10% surge in July same-store sales, sharply higher than analysts had forecast, and projecting better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. Costco Wholesale edged up 0.6% after its same-store sales also topped predictions.
But Abercrombie & Fitch slid 13% after the apparel retailer indicated it would miss fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates provided by FactSet and lowered its full-year earnings outlook, citing a lower sales trend that previously expected.
Hewlett-Packard gained 1% after a state court judge in California ruled in favor the company in its litigation against Oracle, saying Oracle is obligated to develop software for server systems sold by H-P. Oracle declined 1.1%.
General Motors added 1% after the car maker reported second-quarter earning that exceeded estimates, although revenue fell short.
First Solar surged 19% after the company reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that were well above analyst forecasts and raised its full-year outlook.
Yelp rose 6.3% after the local listings site reported a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss and raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Halozyme Therapeutics tumbled 55% after the company said the Food and Drug Administration issued a letter seeking more information on a immunodeficiency treatment developed by Baxter that uses Halozyme's technology. Baxter was still inactive in the premarket.
Write to Tomi Kilgore at [email protected]