Bank of America (BAC.N) was likely to be in the spotlight after the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Darrell Issa, said the Federal Reserve sought to hide its involvement in the bank`s takeover of Merrill Lynch.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to testify on that acquisition before the committee at 10 a.m. EDT.
Also among financials, Barclays on Thursday cut its Q2 earnings per share estimate for Goldman Sachs (GS.N) to $3.55 from $5.20 and for Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to a Q2 loss per share of $0.70.
Investors were also likely to continue to digest the outcome of the Fed`s two-day interest rate policy meeting, which ended on Wednesday with the central bank sticking to its program of buying government and mortgage debt and saying it saw signs the U.S. recession was easing.
Blue-chip stocks on the move after Wall Street`s closing bell on Wednesday included sport goods maker Nike (NKE.N), down more than 6 percent on the back of disappointing orders reported with its Q4 results.
Other notable after-the-bell movers were Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ.O), up 30 percent on results of a late-stage drug study, retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY.O), up 6 percent after Q1 results, and investment bank Jefferies (JEF.N), up 7 percent, after saying it expects record net earnings in Q2.
Four S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday: Lennar Corporation (LEN.N), McCormick & Co Inc (MKC.N), Micron Tech (MU.N) and ConAgra Foods (CAG.N).
Economic data include final Q1 GDP and corporate profits as well as weekly jobless claims, all at 1230 GMT, and the Kansas City Fed`s June manufacturing survey at 1500 GMT (11 a.m. EDT).
Europe`s benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was down 0.
(Reporting by Peter Starck; editing by John Stonestreet)
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