1. Earnings overload: There will be no escaping earnings on Thursday.

Here's a sample of companies reporting results before the opening bell: American Airlines (AAL), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), ConocoPhillips (COP), Ford (F), Hershey Foods (HSY), Hilton (HLT), Nokia (NOK), Southwest Air (LUV), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Twitter (TWTR), Union Pacific (UNP), UPS (UPS) and Xerox (XRX).

CNN parent company Time Warner (TWX) will also publish results ahead of the open.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Baidu (BIDU), Columbia Sportswear (COLM), Expedia (EXPE), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Intel (INTC), Mattel (MAT), Microsoft (MSFT) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) will release quarterly results after the close.

2. Stock market movers: Shares in Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) were moving dramatically higher ahead of the open after the company reported better-than-expected earnings.

Shares in the hospital management firm Universal Health Services (UHS) were 5% lower in premarket trade after the company's earnings missed expectations.

In Europe, Barclays (BCS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) were hit after the firms released disappointing results. Shares in the British bank were off by 5%, while its German rival shed 3%.

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3. Eyes on the ECB: The European Central Bank is set to announce its latest monetary policy plans at 7:45 a.m. ET, which will be followed by a press conference by central bank chief Mario Draghi.

Investors expect Draghi to outline his plans for winding down the ECB's stimulus program.

The bank is currently buying €60 billion ($71 billion) worth of government bonds and other assets each month, an effort designed to help support economic growth across the region.

4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were little changed after a retreat from record levels on Wednesday.

European markets were mixed in early trading.

Most Asian markets ended the day with gains. South Korea's KOSPI was the region's biggest loser with a dip of 0.5%.

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5. Coming this week:

Thursday -- Tech giants including Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Baidu.com (BIDU), Intel (INTC) and Microsoft (MSFT) report earnings.
Friday -- ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) report earnings; U.S. GDP Q3 estimate released