MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Head South As Investors Absorb Fed View

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a wary start for Wall Street on Thursday, after what most see as a more hawkish view out of the Federal Reserve, which one strategist says could usher in more volatility for markets.

Futures for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) fell 6.3 points to 1,965.90, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) slipped 44 points to 16,880. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) were off 13 points to 4,058.75.

Wall Street stocks finished with marginal losses on Wednesday after the Fed put the final stage of quantitative easing to bed, but surprised some with a more upbeat view on the labor market and inflation. The Fed said it could raise interest rates sooner than markets have forecast, if the economy expands faster than it expects.

More volatility coming? Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, said the surprise was that the Fed chose to be so confident so soon after the recent volatility. "Last night's statement would have been near impossible to publish two weeks ago, so it is a bit of a risk," he said in a note. Four reasons the market will rally for the rest of 2014

"As a minimum, the Fed seem quite comfortable withdrawing liquidity from the market, and with that, we continue to think that bouts of volatility are more likely now than they were for most of the two years that QE3 was in existence," said Reid. Economists reactions to Fed statement: Signs of hawkishness

Investors will get a first look at the economy's third-quarter performance Thursday, with data due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time expected to show a 3% rise in annual gross domestic product. Questions remain, though, on growth in the final three months of the year. See preview

At the same time, weekly jobless claims will be released. Claims stayed below 300,000 last week, something which has held for the last six weeks.

MasterCard Inc. (MA) is expected to post third-quarter earnings of 78 cents a share ahead of Wall Street's open. ConocoPhillips (COP) and Kellogg Co.(K) are others that are due to report.

GoPro Inc.(GPRO)(GPRO) and LinkedIn(LNKD) report after the market's close.

Shares of Visa Inc.(V) rose 3% in thin premarket trade after the company's earnings and revenue beat forecasts.

Lakeland Industries Inc.(LAKE) was up another 37% in thin premarket trade, following a big jump in late trade after the hazmat-suit maker reported increased manufacturing capacity in response to the Ebola crisis. Alpha Pro Tech Ltd.(APT) was up as well, by around 8%.

Dollar up, gold slides: The dollar rose against the euro (EURUSD) and the yen (USDJPY) -- briefly tapping its highest levels since early October against the Japanese currency -- as investors absorbed the Fed outcome. Gold(GCZ4) slid 1.7%, while crude-oil prices(CLZ4) were off a full 1%.

European stocks pulled back, while Asian stocks saw mostly moderate gains, outside of a 0.4% drop for Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .

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