U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday as Wall Street amid the release of ADP payroll data, OPEC's meeting in Vienna, as well as comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi.
Draghi said inflation rates are likely to remain very low or negative in coming months, Dow Jones reported. He added that inflation should pick up in the second half of 2016.
The ECB raised its 2016 inflation forecast to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent seen in March and kept its longer-term forecasts steady, with expectations of a 1.6 percent inflation rate in 2018, still short of its target of almost 2 percent, Reuters said.
The U.S. dollar index held lower after briefly attempting gains. The euro was last near $1.12 and the yen near 108.8 yen against the dollar.
U.S. crude oil futures held about 1 percent lower to trade near $48.50 a barrel as of 9:02 a.m. ET. OPEC agreed to no change in policy and no output ceiling, according to Reuters, citing a delegate.
The private sector ADP payroll report was 173,000 in May, a touch below Reuters expectations for 175,000 jobs. The April report was revised up to 166,000 from 156,000.
Treasury yields held lower, with the 2-year yield near 0.88 percent and the 10-year yield around 1.83 percent as of 8:40 a.m. ET.
The ADP report is not widely seen as a reliable indicator for the government's jobs report, expected Friday, but last month it reported just 156,000 jobs. Two days later, April nonfarm payrolls came in at just 160,000, 40,000 shy of expectations.
162,000 nonfarm payrolls are expected in the government report Friday.
Elsewhere on the data front, initial jobless claims came in at 267,000. Traders will also be watching Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, who speaks on regulation at 8:35 a.m. ET, and Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan, who speaks at 1 p.m. ET at a conference at Boston College.
Britain's possible exit from the European Union will be a factor in the Fed's decision on rates later this month, Fed Board Governor Daniel Tarullo said Thursday.
"In the short term it is more a question of the immediate impact on markets," Tarullo said in a Bloomberg TV interview, Reuters reported. "If there are implications for growth over time, to the degree it's a factor (in the June rate decision) it's taking into account what will happen in financial markets and the immediate aftermath of the vote."
Traders will also be keeping a keen eye on OPEC's meeting in Vienna, which could impact the price of oil. The 13-member producer group is not expected to cut or freeze oil production at its meeting Thursday – ideas that failed at its last meeting in April. Brent crude traded at $49.75 a barrel on Thursday, while U.S. crude held at $49.02.
In Europe, the central bank kept interest rates unchanged. ECB President Mario Draghi is scheduled to speak later in the morning. The pan European Stoxx 600 Index was up slightly.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.32 percent lower on Thursday. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed 0.40 percent higher.
On the earnings front, Joy Global is set to report before the bell. Broadcom and Five Below are among companies set to report after the bell.
—CNBC's Patti Domm contributed to this report.