US pre-open: Futures slip ahead of data as markets watch Ukraine tensions
Claims of an "invasion" in Ukraine and nervousness ahead of a raft of domestic economic data sent US stock futures lower on Thursday.
Indices looked set to snap a three-day winning streak, which sent the benchmark S&P 500 above 2,000 for the first time in history on Wednesday, marking its 31st record close of the year so far.
As of 08:10 in New York, stock futures were down 0.4% on the S&P 500 and 0.3% lower on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq.
Over in Eastern Europe, President Petro Poroshenko released a statement saying that he had cancelled a visit to Turkey due to the "sharp aggravation of the situation in Donetsk region, particularly in Amvrosiivka and Starobeshevo, as Russian troops were actually brought into Ukraine".
Poroshenko, who claimed that "an invasion of Russian forces has taken place", said it would request an emerging meeting of the European Union.
Back in the States, the second estimate for second-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) growth is due out before the opening bell and is expected to be revised to 3.9%, slightly lower than the initial prediction of 4% growth in the advance report.
Senior currency strategist Jane Foley from Rabobank said that the possible downwards revision "should not detract from the better outlook that this report has provided on the state of the US economy". She said: "The advance Q2 GDP report brought upwards revisions for the past three quarters, reducing the impact of the harsh winter and bringing better news in business investment."
Other data is forecast to show that initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 300,000 in the week to 23 August.
Meanwhile, pending home sales climbed by 0.5% in July after an unexpected 1.1% fall in June, according to analysts' estimates.
In corporate news, Apple was in focus on reports that it plans to unveil its highly-anticipated wearable device, iWatch, on 9 September to compete against Samsung's Galaxy Gear.
Semiconductor manufacturing group Microchip could also move after UK chipmaker CSR confirmed that it had received and subsequently rejected an approach from the Nasdaq constituent.
BC