U.S. futures lower on Greek debt worries; Dow Jones down 0.11%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were lower on Thursday, as markets were jittery ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day while Greece coalition leaders were still struggling to agree on new austerity measures.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.11%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% loss.

Following talks on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said political leaders had reached an agreement in principle on austerity measures required for the country to secure its next aid package, but the issue of proposed pension cuts was unresolved.

Mr. Papademos said discussions on the issue with international lenders would continue, in the hope of reaching an agreement ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later Thursday.

Shares in the internet sector were expected to be active as Groupon, the largest daily deal company announced an unexpected quarterly loss Wednesday evening, even as revenue almost tripled from the prior year. Shares plunged 12.73% in pre-market trade.

Elsewhere, Cisco, the biggest maker of networking equipment, also saw shares decline 1.62% in pre-market trade although the group reported better-than-expected results after Wednesday’s closing bell, signaling that corporate-network revenue helped make up for slower spending by phone and cable companies.

Also in earnings, Prudential Financial Inc. said fourth-quarter profit more than tripled and beat analyst projections on non- U.S. earnings and narrower losses from investments and derivatives.

PepsiCo was also slated to be in focus after it announced its intention to cut 8,700 Jobs, sending shares down 1.11% in pre-market trade. The company was to report earnings before the opening bell.

On the upside, Visa shares jumped 3.09% in after hour trade after the San Francisco-based company said net income for the three months ending December 31 rose to USD1.03 billion from USD884 million a year earlier. Visa also authorized a new USD500 million share repurchase program.

Other stocks in focus included Coca-Cola Enterprises, Expedia, and Philip Morris International, due to announce results later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.38%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.57%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.25%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.15%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.

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