(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and the Dow Jones down 0.3 to 0.4 percent.
The Labor Department releases first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended July 7 at 8.30 a.m. EDT. Economists forecast a total of 372,000 new filings, compared with 374,000 in the prior week.
Apple Inc's
U.S. insurer Cigna Corp
Centrica Plc
The British utility's North American subsidiary, Direct Energy Services llc, will buy Energetix Inc and NYSEG Solutions Inc, which operate out of Rochester and Binghamton, New York.
China's economy may have grown around 7.5 percent in the second quarter and nearly 8 percent in the first half, and will recover steadily in the second half as policy stimulus gains traction, a senior economist at the cabinet's think-tank said on Thursday. The assessment comes a day before China reports its second quarter growth rate.
European shares <.FTEU3> fell 0.6 percent on Thursday after the minutes to the U.S. Federal Reserve's June meeting dampened hopes for fresh monetary stimulus in the near term.
Japan's Nikkei share <.N225> average posted its biggest fall in over a month after the Bank of Japan only offered minor tweaks to its easing strategy.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 48.59 points, or 0.38 percent, on Wednesday to end at 12,604.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dipped just 0.02 of a point to finish at 1,341.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 14.35 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,887.98.
(Reporting By Viktoria Dendrinou; editing by Patrick Graham)