Wall Street Set for Lower Open as Investors Await GDP, Jobless Claims Data

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open Thursday as investors awaited first-quarter GDP, weekly jobless claims, and pending home sales data. As of 8:05 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 340 points, S&P 500 futures fell 21.25 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 53.75 points. The pullback follows a sharply negative Wednesday session, with the Dow dropping 411.32 points, or 1.1%, to 38,441.54, the S&P 500 falling 0.7% to 5,266.95, and the Nasdaq losing 0.6% to 16,920.58. Economists expect first-quarter GDP growth of 1.5%, down from 1.6% in the prior quarter. Asian markets ended broadly lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index down 1.3% and Japan's Nikkei 225 off 1.3%. European shares traded mostly positive, while gold and oil prices edged lower in Asian trading.