U.S. Stock Futures Pull Back Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Fed Statement

--Stock futures slip ahead of key Fed policy statement

--Europe pulls back from highs; Italian bond auction sees solid demand

--Fed statement seen announcing some new stimulus measures; Bernanke presser to follow

--Data on weekly jobless claims, wholesale inflation also on tap

 
   By Tomi Kilgore 
 

NEW YORK--U.S. stock futures leaned to the downside ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated policy statement with investors taking a breather following the market's recent run to multi-year highs.

About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked down 20 points, or 0.1%, to 13341. The Dow rose 10 points, or 0.1%, Wednesday to post its fourth multi-year high close in five sessions.

Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures gave up two points, or 0.1%, to 1437 and Nasdaq 100 futures eased five points, or 0.2%, to 2791. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

The economic calendar is full, starting with data on initial claims for jobless benefits in the latest week at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires is for a slight increase to 370,000 from 365,000 in the previous week. Also at 8:30 a.m., the Producer Price Index for August is seen climbing 1% from July, while core PPI--excluding food and energy--is expected to be up 0.1%.

But investors will be focused on the 12:30 p.m. release of the Fed's statement on monetary policy. Expectations are high that the Fed will announce some further stimulus measures, although the extent of those measures is still widely debated. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will follow with a press conference at 2 p.m. to discuss any Fed action.

In the corporate arena, shares of Apple Inc. gained 0.7% in premarket trading. On Wednesday, the stock erased losses to close up 1.4% after the unveiling of its new iPhone 5.

European markets pulled back slightly from a yearly high ahead of the Fed's policy meeting, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.2%. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% to close at the highest level seen since July 8, 2011 after a German court ruled in favor of the euro-zone bailout fund.

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's leading economic indicator suggested most major economies will continue to slow in the coming months.

On a positive note, an auction of Italian government bonds saw solid demand, with yields falling well below those seen at the previous auction of bonds of similar maturities.

Asian markets were mixed ahead of the Fed statement, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.4% and China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.8%.

Crude oil futures edged up 0.2% to $97.25 a barrel, while gold futures inched up less than 0.1% to $1,734 an ounce. The dollar eased against both the euro and the yen.

In other corporate news, Pier 1 Imports Inc. gained 1.3% after the home-furnishings retailer reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that matched expectations, and lifted its full-year earnings outlook.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. slumped 14% after the company proposed the public sale of common stock to raise money to help fund clinical trials and research and product development.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. declined 3.9% after the railroad company said it was selling up to 3.5 million shares of common stock to the public.

Vical Inc. rallied 6.1% after the company said it was licensing its DNA immunization technology to drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Shares of Bristol-Myers were still inactive ahead of the open.

Write to Tomi Kilgore at [e-mail]