By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening lower Thursday after high-profile talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without progress, while investors digest volatile oil prices and await key inflation data.
At 7:15 AM ET (1215 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 290 points, or 0.9%; S&P 500 Futures traded 36 points, or 0.9%, lower; and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 160 points, or 1.2%.
The main Wall Street indices all closed sharply higher Wednesday, with the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 650 points or 2%, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 2.6%, its best day since June 2020, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 3.6%, the biggest one-day rise since November 2020.
These gains were based on a sharp fall in oil prices, amid indications that a couple of major producers were prepared to increase output, as well as tentative hopes for peace in the Ukraine conflict.
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey earlier Thursday, the highest profile meeting between diplomats from the two sides since Russia’s invasion, but hopes for progress toward achieving a ceasefire appear to have been dashed.
Additionally, crude prices have rebounded sharply Thursday, after they suffered their biggest one-day drop in almost two years, further weighing on sentiment.
By 7:15 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 4.2% higher at $113.31 a barrel, bouncing from a fall of more than 12% on Wednesday, its worst day since late November. The Brent contract rose 4.8% to $116.50, after dropping 13%, the largest one-day drop since April 2020.
Investors will also keep a close eye on U.S. inflation figures, due at 8:30 AM ET (1330 GMT), which could further guide expectations for the Federal Reserve's meeting next week. The annual CPI figure for February is expected to rise to 7.9%, up from 7.5% in January.
Weekly initial jobless claims are also slated to come out at the same time.
In corporate news, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will be in the spotlight after the online retail giant’s board approved a 20-for-1 stock split and authorized the repurchase of up to $10 billion of its common stock.
Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) announced Thursday it has decided to pause the opening of upcoming hotels and all future hotel development and investment in Russia, joining its peers Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) and Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) who announced similar moves on Wednesday.
Additionally, General Electric (NYSE:GE) reiterated its 2022 earnings forecast despite inflationary and supply-chain challenges.
Also of note, will be earnings from Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), both due to report after the markets close.
Additionally, gold futures rose 1% to $2,007.60/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.4% lower at 1.1033.