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 * Investors are keeping a keen eye on corporate earnings, although
expectations are weak.
* S&P 500 companies on average are expected to post a 7.8 percent
decline in first-quarter profit, according to Thomson Reuters data.
* Bank of America <BAC.N> shares were down 1 percent at $13.68 in
premarket trading after reporting an 18 percent slide in quarterly
profit.
* Wells Fargo <WFC.N> is also due to report before the market opens.
* The banks' results come a day after JPMorgan <JPM.N> beat lowered
expectations for first-quarter profit and revenue.
* Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by financial
stocks.
* The S&P financial sector <.SPSY>, which is down nearly 4 percent
for the year, is the worst performer among the 10 major S&P sectors,
weighed down by the uncertainty surrounding U.S. interest rates and
potential defaults stemming from the energy sector.
* Oil prices fell marginally as the International Energy Agency
trimmed its 2016 forecast for demand growth. [O/R]
* Data on Thursday is expected to show U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2
percent in March after falling 0.2 percent in February. The report
is scheduled for 08:30 a.m. ET.
* A report on jobless claims, which is estimated to have risen by
3,000 to 270,000 last week, is also due at the same time.
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* Seagate Technology shares were down 7.8 percent at $31.29
premarket as the hard-disk maker's disappointing third-quarter
estimates prompted a slew of price target cuts.
* Chipotle Mexican Grill rose 1.4 percent to $450.72 after JP
Morgan raised its rating on the stock.
Futures snapshot at 7:00 a.m. EDT:
* Dow e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.02 percent, with 20,107
contracts changing hands.
* S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.75 points, or 0.04 percent, with
169,202 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 2.5 points, or 0.05 percent, on
15,917 contracts.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
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