Stock futures dipped in early morning trading Thursday as investors eyed Russia-Ukraine conflict and digested corporate earnings reports.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 190 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures declined 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.8%.
Ongoing tension at the Russia-Ukraine border continued to impact market sentiment. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday that there is evidence that Russia is preparing for an “imminent invasion” of Ukraine.
Russia expressed caution Thursday about disturbances in eastern Ukraine and said it will take time to remove troops from the border.
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims numbers came in at 248,000, rising from the previous week and above the 218,000 expected, according to a Dow Jones estimate. Housing permits for January showed a surprise increase, but housing starts lagged expectations.
Investors also weighed a slew of corporate earnings reports.
Walmart topped expectations and reaffirmed guidance, sending its shares marginally higher in early morning trading.
DoorDash surged more than 22% in the premarket after reporting revenue rose and issuing upbeat guidance. Cisco rose more than 3% after also topping estimates and raising guidance, and Applied Materials added 2%.
The S&P 500 in Wednesday’s regular trading session closed little changed, while the Dow shed nearly 55 points and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%.
The major stock averages came off their lows Wednesday after the release of minutes from the Fed’s January meeting.
The meeting summary showed the Fed is prepared to hike interest rates and reduce its balance sheet soon, as investors had already expected.
“Marketwise it’s not the barn burner it could have been,” said Michael Schumacher, director of rates at Wells Fargo. “I think this tells us very little about Fed policy.”
