US pre-open: Futures mixed as S&P 500 hovers near record high

Wall Street futures were mixed going into the penultimate session of the year as the S&P 500 continued to hover near its all-time high.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow futures were down 0.17%, while S&P 500 futures were 0.02% softer and Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.21% firmer.

The Dow closed 111.19 points higher on Wednesday as the blue-chip index stretched its Santa Clause rally another session.

Despite pre-market losses, all three major indices were on track to deliver their ninth winning week in a row as a result of a late-year rally and a bounce back from a disappointing third quarter for stocks.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data will be out at 1330 GMT, as will November goods trade balance numbers and wholesale inventories figures, while last month's pending home sales report was slated for release at 1500 GMT.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Thursday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com