US pre-open: Futures in the red ahead of jobless claims figures

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Thursday after the Dow Jones posted a third straight day of gains in the previous session as fears surrounding the Covid-19 omicron variant faded.

As of 1235 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.26%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.27% and 0.34% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 35.32 points higher on Wednesday, modestly extending gains recorded in the previous session.

However, futures were trading lower on Thursday as market participants held out for this week's jobless claims data from the Labor Department later in the session, with economists expecting the number of first-time-filers print at 211,000, and all-important inflation news on Friday coming in the form of November's consumer price index.

Economists expect the Federal Reserve to react to a burst in inflation by beginning to pull back on economic aid, with the first step being accelerating the reduction in its monthly bond-buying programme, doubling the taper to $30.0bn in a move that could potentially pave the way for interest rate hikes as soon as Spring 2022.

Markets.com's Neil Wilson said: "We had a sharp sell-off on omicron on Nov 26th, a couple of really volatile days and then a steady march back to where we were before – now markets are seeking fresh direction and the path of least resistance appears to be sideways for a bit until there is a bit more known about omicron, inflation and the Fed.

"Tomorrow’s CPI inflation print for the US could upset the recent recovery – looks like 7% for annual inflation would not be far off the mark. This would cement the Fed's hawkish pivot."

On the macro front, jobless claims numbers will be published at 1430 GMT, while October wholesale inventories data will follow at 1600 GMT.

In the corporate space, Lululemon Athletica, Costco and Hormel Foods were all slated to report earnings on Thursday.