US futures drop as investors brace for jobless numbers

US stock futures pointed lower ahead of the release of US jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, a report that will give investors their first sense of how much damage the pandemic is doing to the American labor market.

Dow  futures were were down 345 points, or 1.6%. S&P 500 futures dipped 2% and Nasdaq futures shed 1.7%. US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, notching their first back-to-back gains in weeks as lawmakers made progress on a $2 trillion package that will provide some relief to American workers and companies.