Source: Sharecast
As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.40%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.18% and 0.08% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 16.04 points higher on Wednesday, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recorded their fourth consecutive losing session as shares in big tech firms weighed on the indices.
Thursday's primary focus looked set to be quarterly earnings from retail giant Walmart, which saw the firm deliver second-quarter earnings that missed expectations. Revenues climbed 4.8% year-on-year to $169.3bn and adjusted operating income rose 7.2% to $6.4bn, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.67, excluding a $0.11 net investment loss, short of the $0.73 expected by analysts and snapping a three-year streak of bottom-line beats. Walmart also raised its full-year guidance, citing strength across store, club, and digital channels.
Walmart's earnings come hot on the heels of fellow big-box retailer Target's numbers on Wednesday, with the group reporting yet another quarterly sales decline and revealing that longtime chief executive Brian Cornell will be stepping down from the role.
Market participants will also be holding their breath until comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at the central bank's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole on Friday, with traders hoping to gain further insights into the future of interest rate policy. Fed funds futures were currently pricing in a more than 80% chance that the central bank cuts interest rates at its September meeting after minutes from FOMC's July meeting showed policymakers were concerned about the state of the labour market and inflation, although most agreed that it was too soon to lower interest rates. Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman both dissented against holding rates steady, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so in more than 30 years.
On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be released at 1330 BST, as will the Philadelphia Fed's August manufacturing survey, while a preliminary reading of S&P Global's August manufacturing and services PMIs was slated for release at 1445 BST, and July existing home sales figures will follow at 1500 BST.
In the corporate space, Workday and Zoom Communications were both set to report their latest quarterly figures after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
