Stock futures dive on jobless claims

U.S. stock futures took a dive after weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits increased to 414,000 last week. Economists surveyed by Reuters and Bloomberg had expected a total of 405,000 new filings compared with 409,000 in the prior week.

Dow futures dropped 0.4 per cent, or 47 points, to 11,368 within minutes of the report being released. S&P 500 futures sank 0.6 per cent, or 6.7 points, to 1,192.30. Both had been teetering in and out of positive territory prior to the data.

Now, the market is awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama's speech on job creation measures, expected to top $300-billion, due at 7 p.m. (ET).