NEW YORK�(CNNMoney) -- U.S. futures were set for a lower open Thursday, as investors brace for European Central Bank's announcement and more labor market data.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all slightly lower ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks ended in the red Wednesday, as disappointing reports on jobs and the service sector weighed on investors. Stocks have been trending higher since the start of the year, but investors fear the economy is still on shaky ground.

Concerns over the looming debt ceiling facing Congress and Europe's debt problems have also weighed on the market.

Later Thursday morning, the European Central Bank will announce whether it will raise its key interest rate. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady.

Economy: Investors will get weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, as well as first-quarter productivity figures from the Labor Department. Initial clams are expected to fall to 400,000, according to economists polled by Briefing.com.

Thursday's read on the labor market comes one day before the government's highly anticipated monthly jobs report.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 8.8%, with employers forecasted to add 185,000 jobs in April. For the full year, economists expect 2.3 million new jobs -- just under 200,000 per month -- and an unemployment rate of 8.4% by year end.

Companies: Dow component Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500) reports quarterly results on Thursday, with analysts expecting earnings of 47 cents a share.

Also on tap for Thursday, investors will get results from Priceline.com (PCLN), Visa and insurance giant AIG (AIG, Fortune 500).

World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% and France's CAC 40 edged lower 0.5%, while the DAX in Germany rose 0.1%.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite ticked up 0.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei was closed for holiday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen, but gained slightly on the British pound.

Oil for June delivery slipped $1.75 cents to $107.49 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery fell $8 to $1507.30 an ounce.

Silver futures for July delivery fell $1.33 to $38.06 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged up a small amount, pushing the yield down to 3.21% from 3.22% late Wednesday.  Track futures



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