Stock index futures in the United States were trading marginally lower but without firm direction, ahead of some key earnings announcements and the release of the first-quarter economic growth data. At the time of direction, S&P 500 futures lost 0.7 points to 1350 while Nasdaq futures declined 3.5 points to 2405. Globally, Asian markets ended mostly lower while European stocks edged up, boosted by a handful of robust quarterly results. In the United States, investors would look forward to the release of the first-quarter advance gross domestic product estimate, due at 08:30 a.m. (E.T.). Economic growth in the three-month period is expected to slow down to 1.7% from 3.1% in the previous quarter. Also on the economic calendar are reports on weekly jobless claims and pending home sales, which would shed further light on the state of the economy. In earnings, blue-chip firms such as Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo and ExxonMobil declare first-quarter results before the bell. In commodities, gold continued its relentless rise, topping the $1,530 per mark, while crude oil prices dipped. The U.S. dollar was trading broadly lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday pledged to continue with the central bank’s accommodative monetary policy for an extended period. Shares of eBay and Starbucks may be active in early trade today after the companies declared their numbers after market close yesterday.

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