Stock Futures Slip as Jobless Claims Rise; Wal-Mart Gains

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a lower open on Thursday after initial jobless claims came in higher than expected and after Wednesday's dip resulting from the Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes carried over into the next trading day.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were dropping 16 points, or 0.12%, at 13,873. Futures for the S&P 500 were shedding 2 points, or 0.15%, to 1505. Nasdaq futures were falling 8 points, or 0.3% with a fair value of 2729.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that the consumer price index for January remained unchanged from the prior month's flat reading. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting inflation to rise 0.1%.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 16 rose 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000, up from a prior-week revised 342,000 claims. Ecomists expected claims to rise 355,000. The four-week moving average rose to 360,750 from the previous average of 352,750.

The National Association of Realtors is expected to announce existing home sales at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday, with consensus predicting an annual rate of 4.9 million in January. December's annual rate hit 4.94 million.

The Philadelphia Fed was also expected on Thursday to release its business outlook survey for January. The survey shows general business conditions and was looking for a reading of about 1.1. January's reading came in a negative 5.8, which suggests a contraction.

Minutes from the Fed's policy-making wing on Wednesday suggested that central bankers were becoming more open to the idea of backing away from the massive $85 billion a month in open-ended Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities purchases that the Fed has been making.

Stocks dropped on Wednesday as the prospect of less monetary easing raised questions as to what a Fed exit of continued monetary stimulus may mean for equity markets.

The Fed's less-than-thrilling announcement was battering global stock markets. The FTSE 100 in London was sliding 1.59% on Wednesday, and the DAX in Frankfurt was dropping 1.69%.

Asian markets closed with deep losses on Thursday as Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.39% overnight to finish at 11309. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.72% to 22,907.

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