U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday morning.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slumped nine points early Thursday to 27,791.
Futures for the S&P 500 slipped 1.25 points at 3,107.75.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 10 points, or 0.1%, to 8,281.75.
In corporate news, Macy’s, Berry Global, and BJ’s Wholesale will report earnings before the opening bell. Gap, Intuit, and Splunk are among some of the companies poised to release their latest quarterly results after market close.
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing figures for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Existing home sales for October will follow slightly later in the session.
Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments after a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested China had invited American negotiators to Beijing for a fresh round of trade talks.
During a phone call thought to have been made late last week, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He reportedly invited U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Beijing to sit down for further negotiations.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 ducked 0.5% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.6%.
Oil prices gained 25 cents to $57.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell three dollars to $1,471.20 U.S. an ounce.
