By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Facebook slips premarket after revenue takes currency hit

U.S. stocks were poised for a pullback on Thursday, as futures dropped ahead of a cascade of earnings reports led out by General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Caterpillar.

Investors also are waiting for new home-sales data, coming a day after a stellar reading on existing-home sales. A report on jobless claims is also due.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) dropped 67 points, or 0.4%, to 17,877, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) fell 6.70 points, or 0.3%, to 2,093.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NQM5) gave up 13.25 points, or 0.3%, to 4,432, indicating the benchmark will struggle to reach a record on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Nasdaq (RIXF) rose for a third straight session (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) to sit only 13 points below its record close, reached on March 10, 2000. The other benchmarks also climbed, getting a boost from better-than-expected earnings and the existing-homes data.

Data: More housing numbers are due on Thursday, with new-home sales for March on tap at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect the annual rate to drop to 504,000 after jumping to a seven-year high in February (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-winter-blahs-sales-of-new-homes-hit-7-year-peak-2015-03-24).

Weekly jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. They are forecast to show 288,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, down from 294,000 the previous week.

At 9:45 a.m. Eastern, Markit's preliminary report on the manufacturing purchasing managers index for April is due. Flash PMIs out of Europe released earlier on Thursday showed growth weakened at the start of the second quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-economy-slows-in-april-pmis-show-2015-04-23).

Earnings: On an very busy day for earnings, General Motors(GM.XX) is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 95 cents a share ahead of the bell, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.35 a share, while PepsiCo Inc.(PEP) is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 79 cents a share.

Dow Chemical Co.(DOW) is likely to post earnings of 76 cents a share in the first quarter.

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc.(DNKN)reported first-quarter earnings above analyst forecasts and boosted its 2015 outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dunkin-brands-boosts-2015-outlook-2015-04-23), sending the shares up 1.8% ahead of the market open.

Also reporting premarket, Eli Lilly & Co.(LLY) said adjusted earnings per share rose to 87 cents, beating expectations of 76 cents.

Procter & Gamble Co.(PG) is likely to report fiscal third-quarter earnings of 93 cents a share.

Tech giants fill out the results docket after the market closes. Google Inc.(GOOGL) is forecast to post first-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-googles-earnings-2015-04-20) of $6.61 a share, while Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is expected to report earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-microsofts-earnings-2015-04-21) of 51 cents a share in the first quarter.

Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) is likely to post a loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-amazons-earnings-2015-04-20) of 16 cents a share in the first quarter.

StarbucksCorp.(SBUX) is forecast to post fiscal second-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-look-for-in-starbucks-earnings-2015-04-20) of 33 cents a share.

Movers and shakers: Shares of Facebook Inc.(FB) lost 1.3% ahead of the bell after the social-media company late Wednesday said currency effects hit its first-quarter revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-revenue-hit-by-currency-impact-2015-04-22), which came in below analyst expectations.

Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) lost 2.7% premarket. The chip maker late Wednesday reported a slump in second-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/qualcomm-beats-earnings-cuts-semiconductor-outlook-2015-04-22).

AT&T Inc. (T) ticked 0.8% higher on the back of a slightly better-than-expected earnings report on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/att-adds-441000-core-wireless-subscribers-2015-04-22-164851122).

U.S.-listed shares of Ericsson AB (ERICY) tanked 12% after the Swedish telecom-equipment maker posted earnings below forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ericsson-posts-weaker-than-forecast-profit-2015-04-23), saying higher operating costs and lower spending by the U.S. network operators had weighed on its earnings.

Arris Group Inc. (ARRS) rallied 21% after the network-gear maker said it is acquiring U.K. tech company Pace PLC for $2.1 billion. Pace shares surged 35% in London.

Other markets:European stocks traded mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) after the disappointing PMIs. Investors are also closely monitoring news about Greece's reform talks ahead of a key meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Friday. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels on Thursday.

Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong-stocks-slip-after-soft-china-data-2015-04-23), while metals traded higher. Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)(CLM5) slipped and the ICE dollar index (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)(DXY) was flat around 97.92.

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