US equity markets were tracking in the red before the opening bell Thursday as investors awaited last month's data on producer prices. The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.3%. The majority of Asian exchanges were pointing higher while European bourses were heading north midday on the continent. November's producer price index report, a measure for wholesale prices, is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET.
The data comes a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer inflation rose sequentially last month, in line with Wall Street's projections. Thursday's economic calendar also includes the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am, followed by the revised third-quarter services survey at 10 am.
The weekly EIA domestic natural-gas supplies report is set for release at 10:30 am. Shares of Adobe dropped 11% pre-bell as the software maker's fiscal first-quarter revenue outlook fell short of market estimates. Nordson fell 5.4% as the precision technology company issued downbeat guidance for the ongoing quarter.
Oxford Industries decreased 3.1% as the company swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss. Ciena reports its latest financial results before the bell, among others. Broadcom, Costco Wholesale, and RH are set to release earnings after the markets close. Before the opening bell, bitcoin moved down 1.2% to $100,314, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was little changed at $70.32 per barrel.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries advanced 2.7 basis points to 4.3%, and gold slipped 0.5% to $2,743 an ounce..