BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech and a slew of other Fed speeches are closely watched by the investors. The Jobless Claims for the week will be issued this morning.
Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading lower.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were declining 70.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 11.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 109.00 points.
The U.S. major averages ended higher on Wednesday. The Dow climbed 91.67 points or 0.4 percent to 23,879.12, the Nasdaq advanced 60.08 points or 0.9 percent to 6,957.08 and the S&P 500 rose 10.55 points or 0.4 percent to 2,584.96.
On the economic front, the Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The economists are looking for consensus of 224K while it was 231K in the previous week.
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin will speak on 'Ensuring Longer-Term Growth' at the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce 2019 Economic Forecast event in Raleigh, NC, with audience and media Q&A at 8.35 am ET.
The Commerce Department's Wholesale Trade for November will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a growth of 0.4 percent, while it climbed 0.8 percent in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the change was down 20 bcf.
10 -year TIPS auction will be held at 10.30 am. 30-year Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will be giving a presentation on U.S. economic and monetary policy at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce's Power Up Little Rock Event in Little Rock, AR, with audience Q&A at 12.40 pm ET.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to participate in a discussion at the Economic Club of Washington in Washington, DC. at 12.45 pm ET.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will deliver a speech and participate in a moderated Q&A session at the Milwaukee Business Journal Economic Forecast in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with audience Q&A at 1.00 pm ET.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari to speak about immigration and economic growth at the Jewish Community Relations Council Luncheon in Minneapolis, MN, with audience Q&A at 1.20 pm ET.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will give a speech on economic outlook and monetary policy at the Downtown Association in New York, New York at 7.00 pm ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $4.058 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was $12.2 billion.
In the corporate sector, L Brands, Inc. reported a decrease in net sales for the month of December 2018, while comparable sales were flat. The net sales for the five weeks ended January 5, 2019 were $2.48 billion, down from $2.52 billion for the five weeks ended December 30, 2017. Comparable sales, or same-store sales, were flat for the five-week period, compared to the five weeks ended January 6, 2018.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 9.25 points or 0.36 percent to 2,535.10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up by 0.22 percent at 26,521.43.
Consumer prices in China were up just 1.9 percent year on year in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 2.1 percent year on year and down from 2.2 percent in November.
Japanese shares snapped a three-day winning streak. The Nikkei average tumbled 263.26 points or 1.29 percent to 20,163.80 after climbing 4.4 percent over the past three sessions. The broader Topix index closed 0.85 percent lower at 1,522.01.
Australian markets edged lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 17 points or 0.29 percent to 5,795.30 after climbing nearly 1 percent in the previous session. The broader All Ordinaries index ended up 15.50 points or 0.27 percent at 5,853.90.
European shares are trading mostly lower. CAC 40 of France is declining 34.85 points or 0.72 percent. DAX of Germany is down 28.13 points or 0.26 percent. FTSE 100 of England is slipping 2.74 points or 0.04 percent. Swiss Market Index is adding 51.62 points or 0.59 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.34 percent.
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