Wall Street Likely To Open On Weak Note

Lower index futures and falling European stocks point to a weak start for the U.S. market Thursday morning.

The U.S. market had ended sharply lower on Wednesday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed policymakers were looking to start tapering asset purchases before the end of this year.

Data on weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 AM ET, and a reading of the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for August, also due around the same time, are expected to provide some directional clues to the market.

in earnings news, Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) revealed its second quarter earnings came in at $382 million, or $2.48 per share. This compares with $47 million, or $0.30 per share, in last year’s second quarter. Excluding items, Kohl’s Corp. reported adjusted earnings of $382 million or $2.48 per share for the period.

Macy’s Inc. (M) reported earnings of $345 million for the second-quarter, compared to a loss of $431 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share was $1.08 in the latest quarter, as against a loss of $1.39 a year earlier.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) announced on Wednesday that it’s fourth-quarter profit rose to $3.01 billion or $0.71 per share from $2.64 billion or $0.62 per share last year.

Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, with renewed worries about slowing global growth and uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy moves keeping investors nervous.

Chinese and Hong Kong shares ended lower after China published detailed rules aimed at tackling unfair competition and companies’ handling of critical data.

European stocks are plunging sharply with miners and energy companies slumping amid worries about a slowdown in global growth in the second half of the year.

Uncertainties about Fed’s tapering plans also dented sentiment after minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed there was broad consensus among policymakers to reduce their monthly bond buying later this year.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September are down $2.30 or 3.58% at $63.16 a barrel.

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday after seeing considerable volatiliy following the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealing that most officials at the central bank’s July monetary policy meeting believe it will be appropriate to begin tapering asset purchases this year.

However, the minutes of the July 27 to 28 meeting showed there was still some disagreement over the timing of tapering the asset purchases.

The major averages finished the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 382.59 points or 1.1 percent to 34,960.69, the Nasdaq slumped 130.27 points or 0.9 percent to 14,525.91 and the S&P 500 tumbled 47.81 points or 1.1 percent to 4,400.27.