(By Balachander) U.S. stock index futures trimmed gains and pointed to a lower open on the Wall Street amid disappointing domestic jobless claims data and jump in borrowing costs in Spain and Italy.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures shed 1.00 point to 12,428.00. The Nasdaq Futures dipped 2.50 points to 2,520.00. Standard and Poor's 500 futures edged 0.80 points lower to 1,308.00.
On the US economic front, the number of Americans who continued to receive jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, a government data showed. Jobless claims increased 6,000 to 386,000 for the week ended June 9 from a revised 380,000, while economists projected 375,000 applications.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department said the consumer price index declined 0.3 percent in May, more than expectations of a 0.2 percent drop. Core inflation held steady at 0.2 percent. In April, consumer prices held steady but core consumer prices advanced 0.2 percent.
In European news, yields on 10-year Spanish bonds hit a record high of 7 percent following a downgrade of the nation's government debt rating by Moody's to just above junk status. Italy's three-year borrowing costs too climbed to 5.30 percent in an auction. Second round of elections in Greece on Sunday also weighed on investor sentiment.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed in red as weak domestic sales data and persisting worries over Europe's finances dented sentiment.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: NOK, SFD, KR, UTX, DDD
In corporate news, Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) tumbled 8.96 percent in premarket after the Finland-based cellphone maker announced plans to shed a further 10,000 job worldwide in a move to save costs. The company also warned of a larger-than-forecast loss from its smartphones business in the second quarter.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE:SFD) reported quarterly earnings that trailed market expectations amid drop in operating margins and the meat processor said it will repurchase a further $250 million of its shares. Shares fell 4.70 percent in premarket.
Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) added 3.90 percent in premarket after the grocery retailer raised its annual earnings view and announced $1 billion share buyback plan.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) may be in focus after the parent company of Otis elevator, Sikorksy Aircraft boosted its quarterly dividend by 11.5 percent to 53.5 cents a share.
3D Systems Corp. (NYSE:DDD) retreated 7.65 percent in premarket after the provider of three-dimensional (3D) printers said it is offering to sell 3.7 million shares in an underwritten public offering at $27.00 apiece, a 9 percent discount to the stock's previous close.
Global Markets:
European markets retreated amid lingering worries over the region's debt crisis, with Germany's DAX losing 0.81 percent to trade at 6,102.39. France's CAC40 fell 0.60 percent to 3,011.72. U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.83 percent to trade at 5,438.45.
Asian markets ended lower tracking global cues, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.98 percent to end at 2,296.30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.15 percent to close at 18,808.40. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.22 percent to close at 8,568.89. India's BSE Sensex finished at 16,677.88, down 1.20 percent.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures inched up 0.04 percent to $82.650 per barrel. Gold futures added 0.20 percent to $1,622.7 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro traded 0.10 percent higher against the U.S. dollar at 1.2570, and the British pound edged 0.12 percent higher against the greenback to 1.5523. The dollar declined 0.36 percent against the Japanese yen to 79.2000.