1. U.S. jobs data in focus
The U.S. is to release weekly data on initial jobless claims at 8:30AM ET. The report is expected to show that claims rose to 273,000 last week from 267,000 in the preceding week.
Market players also looked ahead to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, amid ongoing expectations for a September rate hike. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 223,000 last month, while the jobless rate is forecast to hold steady at 5.3%.
Data on Wednesday showed that service sector activity in the U.S. grew at the fastest pace since August 2005 in July, while private sector employment data rose at the slowest pace in three months.
2. Wall Street earnings keep rolling in
SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS), Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE:KORS), New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA), AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX), Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), Apache (NYSE:APA), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) and Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ:RDEN) are due to report quarterly earnings ahead of Thursday's opening bell.
After Thursday's close of trading, Bojangles (NASDAQ:BOJA), Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING), Noodles & Company (NASDAQ:NDLS), Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Allergan (NYSE:AGN_pa), Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Con Ed (NYSE:ED) and Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE:LGF) are scheduled to report.
3. Bank of England "Super Thursday"
For the first time, the Bank of England will release its rate decision, minutes of its Monetary Policy Committee meeting and quarterly inflation report all at the same time, in what's been dubbed "Super Thursday". The policy announcements will come out at 7:00AM ET, or 12:00PM London time.
BOE Governor Mark Carney will hold a press conference after the release, at 12:45PM in London. Last month, Carney stated the time for tighter monetary policy was approaching. Most market players expect the BOE to begin slowly raising interest rates in mid-2016.
4. U.S. oil futures fall to lowest since March, Brent below $50
U.S. oil futures fell to the lowest level in more than four months on Thursday, as an unexpected gasoline stock build last week dented the demand outlook.
Crude oil for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped to an intraday low of $44.84 a barrel, a level not seen since March 20, before trading at $44.91 during U.S. morning hours, down 24 cents, or 0.54%.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery shed 5 cents, or 0.1%, to trade at $49.54 a barrel. On Wednesday, London-traded Brent prices tumbled to $49.02, the lowest since January 27, before ending at $49.59, down 40 cents, or 0.8%.
5. Tesla shares drop 6% in pre-market trade
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 6.16% to $253.49 on heavy volume in pre-market trade after the electric-car maker forecast it would deliver fewer new cars this year than previously estimated.
Tesla posted a wider than expected quarterly loss after Wednesday's closing bell and said it may raise more cash to offset heavy spending on expanded production.