U.S. stocks extend losses on Fed jitters, jobless claims awaited

U.S. stocks index futures dipped on Thursday as investors cautiously awaited the weekly jobless claims report, a day after the Federal Reserve signaled uncertain recovery for the world’s largest economy.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq retreated from their  historic peaks after minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting showed the labor market’s swift rebound in May and June had likely slowed and policymakers would stick with aggressive stimulus measures for a much longer period.

However, the benchmark S&P 500 index completed its fastest recovery from a bear market this week, joining the Nasdaq in scaling new peaks.