US pre-open: Stocks seen a little lower as retailers report

US futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with retailers in focus as Kohl's, Macy's and Nordstrom report earnings, while Snapchat's parent company was also in the spotlight after disappointing results.

At 1230 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1% while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were off 0.2%.

In currency markets, the dollar was up 0.6% against the pound to 0.7776 after the Bank of England left interest rates and its asset purchase programme on hold, as widely expected. The BoE held interest rates at 0.25%, with the monetary policy committee vote count unchanged at 7 to 1, while the asset purchase programme was left at £435bn and the corporate bond purchase programme at £10bn. Kristin Forbes again voted in favour of an immediate hike in interest rates.

IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "US PPI and unemployment claims are on the list for today, but we can expect a lot of attention to focus on Snap and the aftermath of its post-results plunge. The figures, showing revenue of $149 million but a remarkable loss of $2.2 billion, will allow the doubters to proclaim ‘We told you so!’ from the rooftops.

"Still, if the story Snap is selling is user growth, then at least here they are delivering - users have risen 36% year-on-year and 5% from the last quarter. Now the hype has subsided, will some begin to see their chance to invest? Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 20,911, down 32 points from Wednesday’s close."

Snap shares were down a whopping 21% in pre-market trade.

Meanwhile, Kohl's shares were flat as it reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, but weaker sales. Net income came in at $66m or 39 cents a share, up from $17m or 9 cents a share in the first quarter of last year, but sales fell to $3.84bn from $3.97bn.

Results were still due ahead of the open from retailers Macy's and Nordstrom.

Market participants were also digesting a speech from New York Fed President William Dudley earlier, who was reported to have said at the Bombay Stock Exchange that trade protectionism is a "dead end" that will harm the US economy. According to Reuters, Dudley said: "Protectionism can have a siren-like appeal.

"Viewed narrowly, it may be potentially rewarding to particular segments of the economy in the short term."

On the macroeconomic calendar, the producer price index is at 1330 BST, along with initial jobless claims data.