Source: Sharecast
As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.11%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.03% and 0.14% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 132.71 points lower on Wednesday after the White House revealed Donald Trump would unveil new tariffs on auto imports.
Thursday's primary focus will likely be Q4's gross domestic product reading at 1230 GMT, with economists expecting to see GDP expand 2.3% on an annualised rate.
AJ Bell's Russ Mould said: "The automotive industry has struck Donald Trump off their Christmas card list after he imposed 25% tariffs on cars and car parts coming into the US from April. It has caused shares in auto companies to go into reverse and weighed on financial markets, with Wall Street firmly in the red last night.
"Futures prices imply yet another bad session in the States when markets open for trading later on, meaning American equities are well and truly having a bad year. The Nasdaq Composite is the worst-performing index of all the major regions year-to-date, down 7.3% on a total return basis. That compares with a 6.8% positive return from the FTSE 100, 12.9% gain from the Dax and a 17.5% winning turn from the Hang Seng. Investors who merrily filled their accounts with US stocks in recent years have had a wake-up call in 2025 that market winners can quickly turn to market losers. That is why diversification is so important in an investment portfolio."
Elsewhere on the macro front, weekly jobless claims data and a preliminary reading of February's goods trade balance report will be out at 1230 GMT, while pending home sales will be published at 1400 GMT and the Kansas Federal Reserve's Mach manufacturing index will follow at 1500 GMT.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com