US stocks edge down after abrupt end to trade talks with North Korea

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday after a U.S.-North Korea summit ended abruptly in Vietnam and ahead of a fourth-quarter report on U.S. gross domestic product. The Commerce Department's GDP data is expected to show that growth in the U.S. economy likely missed the Trump administration's 3 per cent annual target.

The report to be published at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT) will offer the latest assessment of the impact of President Donald Trump's economic policies, including deregulation, tax cuts, increased government spending and tariffs aimed at securing more favorable trade deals. Earlier in the day, data showed factory activity in China, shrank to a three-year low in February, underscoring deepening cracks in the world's second-largest economy.

Also on Thursday, Trump said he had walked away from a nuclear deal at his summit with Kim Jong Un because of unacceptable demands from the North Korean leader to lift punishing U.S.-led sanctions. At 7:08 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 52 points, or 0.2 per cent. S&P 500 e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.29 per cent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 30.5 points, or 0.43 per cent.

The benchmark S&P 500 index closed slightly lower on Wednesday after testimonies to U.S. Congress from trade and central bank officials as well as President Donald Trump's former lawyer brought few major surprises. Still, optimism on trade and Fed policy had boosted equities from December lows in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 index roughly 5 per cent below its record closing high hit in late September.

Among stocks, HP Inc tumbled 13.8 per cent in premarket trading after its quarterly revenue fell short of analysts' estimates on weaker-than-expected sales in both its personal computer and printing businesses. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co rose 2.5 per cent after top shareholder Wellington Management came out against the drugmaker's $74 billion deal to buy biotech Celgene Corp. Celgene shares fell 7.8 per cent. China's JD.com Inc jumped 9.7 per cent after the e-commerce firm reported quarterly revenue above analysts' estimates on the back of stronger online retail sales.