Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.11% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.08% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% slip.
On Wednesday, the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed that officials were "broadly comfortable" with plans to start unwinding the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
However, officials remain divided over the timing of possible reduction, with almost all committee members agreeing that a change in the asset purchase program was not yet appropriate.
The minutes described recent U.S. economic data as “mixed”, indicating that plans to taper could be pushed back if the economy was to weaken.
Tech stocks were expected to be active, after billionaire investor Carl Icahn tweeted that Apple CEO Tim Cook was planning a bigger buyback.
The news came after Icahn revealed last week that he had taken a large position in Apple, which is estimated to be worth more than USD1 billion.
Separately, a number of images were leaked on Thursday of what could be Apple's new line of iPhones. The tech giant's shares were up 0.41% in pre-market trade.
The financial sector was also likely to be in focus, after Moody's Investors Service warned it might cut the credit ratings of the six of the biggest U.S. lenders, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
The ratings agency said the U.S. government may be unlikely to bail the banks out should they face trouble in the future.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Foot Locker and Hibbett Sports , scheduled to post quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.42%, Germany's DAX eased 0.02%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.21%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales.
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