By Ambar Warrick

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Thursday after a strong rally in the previous session, with investor focus shifting to upcoming data on jobless claims and retail sales for a better reading on the ongoing economic recovery.

Wall Street indexes posted strong gains on Wednesday. The most economically sensitive stocks and cyclical stocks benefited from the rally in oil prices. Also, data suggesting that the growth of factory activity remained stable in the United States helped the stock market.

The data also indicated a decline in import prices. These readings, along with recent consumer price index readings that suggested that inflation was likely to have peaked, suggest that it will eventually drop to lower levels.

Stock market struggles to keep hold of record highs set in August due to weaker September trends, and fears that the economy may slow down towards the end.

Now, the focus is on weekly jobless claims as well as August retail sales data. Both of these are expected to be released at 8:30 AM ET (1330 GMT).

At 06:22 ET, E-minis fell 5.75 points or 0.13%. Dow E-minis were down 28 points, or 0.08%, while E-minis were down 32.75 points, or 0.21%.

U.S.-listed Chinese stock declined in premarket trades, as Beijing’s legal overhaul of Macau’s gambling industry was yet another source of confusion for a sector that has been suffering due to crackdowns in technology and education.

U.S.-based casino operators Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:) Corp, Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:) Ltd and MGM Resorts (NYSE:) International also fell before the opening bell.

EA, a videogame publisher, rose almost 2% as it kept its guidance, despite delaying its anticipated Battlefield 2042 title launch by over a month.