U.S. stock index futures indicated a lower open Thursday as investors weighed the possibility of a December rate hike and digested third-quarter GDP (gross domestic product), as well as a host of earnings data.
In economic news, third-quarter GDP showed an annual rate of 1.5 percent, slightly missing expectations and below the second-quarter's 3.9 percent. Weekly jobless claims was 260,000.
Dow futures continued to trade about 60 points lower after the data releases.
The Fed on Wednesday issued a surprisingly hawkish post-meeting statement, commenting specifically that it will be looking for progress in employment and labor when considering a rate hike at its December meeting.
The fact the central bank specifically mentioned its next meeting immediately triggered a significant move up in market expectations for a Fed rate rise this year.
U.S. stocks closed more than 1 percent higher Wednesday after the release of the Fed statement. Financials led S&P 500 advancers, with energy the second-best performer as oil surged 6.3 percent.
"It's unambiguously positive to get the Fed out of the way," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "But in the near term ... we look at the futures market (lower). We're not giving back yesterday. We're cutting it in half."
"One of the things that's going to be important to watch is WTI recapturing $45 and holding onto that," he said.
Bond yields held higher in morning trade after rising Wednesday. The 10-year yield was 2.11 percent and the 2-year yield 0.73 percent as of 9:08 a.m., ET.
The U.S. dollar traded slightly lower against major world currencies, with the euro at $1.09 and the yen at 120.98 yen against the dollar.
On the earnings front, Aetna and Time Warner Cable were among the companies that reported before the bell.
Baidu, Starbucks, Electronic Arts, LinkedIn, Western Union, Boston Beer, First Solar, Outerwall and SolarCity are among companies due to report after the bell.
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In oil markets, Brent crude traded at around $48.70 a barrel, down 0.69 percent, while U.S. crude was near $46.08 a barrel, up 0.28 percent.
In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was about half a percent lower Thursday morning. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei finished 0.17 percent higher, while in China the Shanghai Composite closed 0.38 percent higher.
—CNBC's Patti Domm contributed to this report