Stock futures extend losses on data ; Facebook drops
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures added to losses on Thursday after weekly jobless claims rose to the highest level since late March, and gold prices fell sharply a day after the Federal Reserve opted to begin tapering its bond purchases.

Shares of Facebook Inc. fell in premarket on news of a share sale. Oracle Corp. rose after results late Wednesday, while a handful of other companies reported results.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBE JH4) eased 47 points to 16,062, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (GLC:SPH4) fell 6 points to 1,799. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (GLC:NDH4) were down 13 points to 3,495.50.

New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since late March, but the increase probably reflects typical holiday-season ups and downs instead of any discernible change in a labor market that’s shown clear improvement lately. Initial claims climbed by 10,000 to 379,000 in the week ended Dec. 14, the Labor Department said Thursday.

At 10 a.m. Eastern Time, a trio of data are due: existing-home sales for November, the Philadelphia Fed’s December manufacturing index (which last month dipped to the lowest reading since May) and leading indicators for November. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-future...beforebell