Futures lost footing Thursday, dipping into negative territory, following the weekly jobless claims report that showed the four-week moving average rose to its highest since January and following a handful of earnings news that disappointed.
New claims for unemployment benefits declined last week by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, according to the Labor Department, but the four-week moving average jumped 6,250 to 381,750, the highest since January. Economists polled by Reuters had expected claims falling to 375,000 in the previous week.
Stocks jumped in the previous session, thanks to Apple's blowout quarterly resultsas well as statements from Federal Reserve that the central bank remains prepared to take actionto help the economy.
Exxon Mobil declined after the energy giant missed earnings estimates, as oil and nat gas production fell 5 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, the Dow component announced a 21 percent dividend hike, becoming the top corporate dividend payer, surpassing AT&T .
UPS edged lower after the package delivery company reported quarterly results that grew compared to the same period last year, but still missed Wall Street estimates.
PepsiCo reported a smaller decline in earningsthan estimates, thanks to price increases, and the beverage giant reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
Amazon.com , Starbucks and Zynga are among notable companies slated to report earnings after-the-bell tonight.
Chesapeake Energy
The National Association of Realtors issues pending home sales for March at 10:00 am ET. Economists told Reuters they expected a 1 percent rise, compared with a 0.5 percent drop in February.
The government is scheduled to auction $29 billion in 7-year notes at 1pm ET.
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Coming Up This Week:
THURSDAY: Pending home sales index, 7-yr note auction, J&J shareholders meeting; Earnings from Amazon.com, Starbucks, Zynga
FRIDAY: GDP, employment cost index, consumer sentiment; Earnings froM Chevron, Merck, P&G
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