U.S. stock futures were most recently trading lower, having earlier been flat to higher, amid volatile trade after the Swiss National Bank took the unexpected step of removing the cap that has been in place since 2011 on the Swiss franc, driving it higher 17% recently against the dollar.

At 8:30 a.m. E.T., jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 10 are expected to have edged higher to 295,000 from 294,000 the preceding week, with the consensus range spanning from 281,000 to 325,000, according to data compiled by Econoday.

The producer price index for final demand is expected to have edged down 0.4% in December, extending a 0.2% decline in November. The consensus range is between a drop of 1% and a drop of 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the Empire State Manufacturing index is seen gaining to 5.0 for January from a negative reading of 3.58 in December. The consensus range is between 0.0 and 8.0.

Later this morning, at 10:00 a.m., the Philadelphia Fed’s general business conditions index is seen at 20.0 for January, down from 24.5 in December and within the consensus range between 16.0 and 29.3.

In equities smartphone maker BlackBerry ( BBRY ) shed nearly 15% in recent pre-market trade after denying late Wednesday that it is in talks to be acquired by Samsung. The stock surged 30% Wednesday after a Reuters report said Samsung could offer as much as $ 7.5 billion or between $ 13.35 and $ 15.49 per share.

Among companies reporting, Bank of America ( BAC ) shares slipped 3% as revenue Q4 revenue fell to miss estimates and electronics retailer Best Buy ( BBY ) fell 8% after warning of external pressures including deflationary pricing, weak industry demand in NPD-reported consumer electronics categories and exchange rate volatility in the international business.