Stock Futures Signal Slow Start
Traders have economic data to sift through this morning
U.S. stock futures are pointing to a lower open, with earnings and economic data in focus. Weekly jobless claims showed 210,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past week, matching expectations, and thePhilly Fed manufacturing index rose to a three-year high in February. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) looks set for a slow start to the day, and the same appears true for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), which could cool after Wednesday's record highs.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Volatility expectations pick up ahead of one Apple supplier's quarterly report. Call buying has stayed popular on Tesla. Plus, Domino's heats up; Morgan Stanley's $13 billion bet; and Stamps.com is set to surge. 
5 Things You Need to Know Today
The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.6 million call contracts traded onWednesday, to 717,581 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved to 0.45, and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.54.Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) is in focus this morning as the shares rally in pre-market trading following the company's earnings release. DPZ stock is up 17.5% thanks to strong same-store sales figures and a profit beat, which sets up the pizza name for a seventh straight win and a new record high. On the M&A front this morning traders are taking in news that Morgan Stanley (MS) is buying E-Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC) for $13 billion, in the latest shake-up of the online brokerage space. This has ETFC stock up 22% before the open, after the shares had dropped 7.6% in the past year. Another big pre-market mover is Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP), pacing for a 37% surge at the open. The company's fourth-quarter results blew past estimates, and it gave a strong outlook, as well, setting the shares up for their best day in roughly four years. AK Steel (AKS), Dropbox (DBX), Henry Schein (HSIC), Puma Biotech (PBYI), and Universal Display (OLED) will all step into the earnings confessional.
Earnings in Focus in Europe
Stocks in Asia were a mixed bag on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.8%, after the country reduced its loan prime rate (LPR) -- as expected -- in an attempt to ease the economic toll the coronavirus has taken. The Nikkei in Japan muscled higher by 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.2%, and the South Korean Kospi dropped 0.7%.
A spate of disappointing earnings over in Europe has left the major bourses lower at midday. The French CAC 40 and German DAX are both down 0.2%, the former dampened by a weak forecast from Air France. Meanwhile, the London FTSE 100 is down 0.05%.