U.S. stock-index futures extended losses after jobless claims topped economists’ forecasts, damping optimism about the economy.

Initial jobless claims were 359,000 last week, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast of economists in a survey called for 350,000 claims.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  10,114.79 -67.78 -0.67%

Hang Seng 20,609.39 -276.03 -1.32%

Shanghai Composite 2,252.16 -32.72 -1.43%

FTSE  5,762.97 -46.02 -0.79%

CAC  3,400.21 -29.94 -0.87%

DAX 6,917.55 -81.25 -1.16%

Crude oil $105.22 (-0.2%).

Gold $1661.40 (+0,2%).