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U.S. stock index futures ticked lower ahead of Thursday's open, as investors braced for a tariff announcement from the White House.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 197 points, or 0.8%, to 24,530
S&P 500 futures slipped 19.5 points, or 0.7%, to 2,698.75, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite dropped 74.5 points, or 1.1%, to 6,809.50
Social media firms will remain at the forefront of investors' minds. Earlier this week, reports emerged alleging that Cambridge Analytica, an analytics company, had gathered data from 50 million Facebook profiles without the permission of its users.
On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke his silence on the matter, telling CNN that it had been "a major breach of trust, and I'm really sorry that this happened," expanding upon a statement he released online earlier that day.
The Trump administration is set to announce later on Thursday tariffs designed to punish China for intellectual property theft.
Equities have been under pressure recently as the Trump administration ramps up a protectionist trade agenda. Earlier this month, President
Donald Trump announced the implementation of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, raising concerns about a potential trade war.
Investors also digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision.
As widely expected by the markets, the Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday and upgraded its economic outlook, saying that economic activity and jobs gains had been strong in recent months.
A slew of economic data are also due to come out, with jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the FHFA House Price Index at 9 a.m. ET. At 9:45 a.m. ET, a U.S. flash composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) is due out, followed by the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey, set to come out at 11 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, European stocks were reportedly under pressure approaching noon on the continent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rocketed 1%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.1%.
Oil prices retreated 43 cents to $64.74 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices raised themselves $8.10 to $1,329.60 U.S. an ounce.
