Last updated November 19, 2009: 7:45 AM ET --- U.S. stock futures are trading lower Thursday as pessimism over economic recovery surrounds the markets. Economic reports due out include weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 AM ET, leading indicators for October, and the November Philadelphia Fed survey, both due at 10 AM ET. Economists on average expect claims of 500,000, a 0.4% advance in leading indicators, and an improvement in the Philly Fed index to 14.0, up from 11.5. In corporate news, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC) downgraded eight microchip companies including Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) over concerns that inventories are too high unless there is a sharp upturn from global economies. Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) reported a $127 million quarterly loss. Due to report after the close are Gap (NYSE:GPS) and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL). Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) may gain as the Victoria's Secret parent company increased its Q3 profit and lifted its fiscal year outlook. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are trading 74.00 points lower, the S&P500 futures are down 10.50 points, and the Nasdaq Composite futures are down 13.75 points.

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