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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing lower Thursday, European stocks were mixed and Asian shares closed down following the release of disappointing Chinese trade data.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined 0.4% to finish at 9,009.65 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5%. China reported slower-than-expected exports and imports in April.

The economic calendar in the U.S. Thursday includes weekly initial and continuing jobless claims; trade balance figures for March; and export and import prices for April. All the reports are expected at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Economists call for initial claims to come in at 365,000, according to Briefing.com.

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Cisco (CSCO) provided disappointing guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter.

The networking giant forecast earnings of 44 cents to 46 cents a share for the July-ending quarter with year-over-year revenue growth anticipated at 2% to 5%.

Analysts were calling for a profit of 49 cents a share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $11.99 billion.

For the third quarter, Cisco, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted revenue of $11.59 billion, up from $10.87 billion a year earlier, and a tick above analysts' estimates of $11.58 billion.

Excluding items, Cisco earned 48 cents a share, up from 42 cents a share in the same period last year. Analysts swere looking for earnings of 47 cents.

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Sony (SNE) posted its fifth straight quarterly loss Thursday, leading to an annual loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion), the worst in the Japanese consumer electronic giant's history.

Sony, however, said it expects to return to profit for the fiscal year through March 2013 as it counts on its growing smartphone and tablet business.

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Media giant News Corp. (NWS) reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $937 million, or 38 cents a share, up from last year's $639 million, or 24 cents a share.

The parent company of the Fox Network and The Wall Street Journal also said its board authorized a $5 billion increase in share repurchases.

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Earnings are expected Thursday from Kohl's (KSS) and Dynegy (DYN),

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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