MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: More Weakness In Store Ahead Of Claims, Inflation Data

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Exxon Mobil, New York Times earnings on tap

U.S. stock futures pointed to another day in the red Thursday, ahead of a stream of data that could provide a trigger to build on the previous session's Federal Reserve-fueled losses.

Investors were also waiting for the latest raft of corporate earnings, including results from Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), New York Times Co. (NYT) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC).

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) dropped 67 points, or 0.4%, to 17,887, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) lost 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,093. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NQM5) gave up 20.75 points, or 0.5%, to 4,459.

The losses add to declines from Wednesday, when the benchmarks ended a volatile session lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)after the Fed left open the possibility of an interest-rate hike as early as June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-expects-economy-to-recover-as-it-keeps-rate-options-open-2015-04-29). The central bank said it wants to see further improvement in the labor market and have confidence that low inflation is stabilizing before they raise rates. A sluggish pace in first quarter growth also took a toll on stocks.

Data: And investors will get data on both the labor market and inflation later on Thursday. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, weekly jobless claims are due, forecast to show 287,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, down from 295,000 the week before.

The employment-cost index for the first quarter, personal income and consumer spending for March are also due at 8:30. For forecasts, .

Core inflation, which is one of the Fed's most closely watched measures, comes out at 8:30 as well. Consumer-price data for the eurozone showed earlier on Thursday that the region escaped negative inflation in April (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-consumer-prices-steady-after-declines-2015-04-30) after four months of declining consumer prices.

Fed speakers: Governor Daniel Tarullo will speak on community bank regulation to community bankers association in Washington at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Earnings: Reporting ahead of the bell, New York Times Co.(NYT) is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 8 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Among energy companies, Exxon MobilCorp.(XOM) is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of 82 cents (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-look-for-in-exxon-earnings-2015-04-28) a share, while ConocoPhillips (COP) is expected to post a loss of 16 cents a share in the first quarter.

Time Warner Cable Inc.(TWC) is forecast to report earnings of $1.88 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-look-for-in-time-warner-cable-earnings-2015-04-29) a share in the first quarter.

Colgate-Palmolive Co.(CL) is predicted to report first-quarter earnings of 66 cents a share.

After the bell, American International Group Inc.(AIG)LinkedInCorp.(LNKD) and Visa Inc. (V) are set to report. Read about what's expected (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-york-times-exxon-aig-linkedin-fireeye-earnings-in-focus-2015-04-30).

Movers and shakers: Shares of Yelp Inc.(YELP) dropped 16% in thin volume after the online review company late Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yelp-reports-slower-growth-profit-and-sales-miss-2015-04-29).

Glu Mobile Inc.(GLUU) leapt 22% premarket after Chinese Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it'll buy a 14.6% stake in the mobile-game company for $126 million.

U.S.-listed shares of Alcatel-Lucent(ALU) slumped 6% after the Financial Times reported a major shareholder in the French telecoms company has criticized the terms of its buyout by Nokia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/key-alcatel-lucent-shareholder-calls-nokia-deal-unacceptable-2015-04-30). U.S.-listed Nokia shares (NOK) lost 6.4%, also after reporting first-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nokia-profit-falls-but-beats-expectations-2015-04-30).

Other markets: Asian stock markets closed mostly lower, while European benchmarks struggled for direction.

Crude-oil prices (CLM5) moved 1% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) and most metals declined. The dollar (DXY) traded lower against most other major currencies (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

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