Often is the case that after a big selloff, stocks stage a rally. Alas, this is not the case today and I feel like I'm repeating myself every morning, but U.S. stock futures were lower Thursday, indicating stocks could further extend Wednesday's selloff. Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 8,000 for the first time since 2003 as it lost 5%. The S&P 500 sank 6% and the Nasdaq shed 6.5%. The same concerns that had U.S. markets plunging yesterday are the same ones affecting stock futures this morning: investors fear the happenings in the financial sector, are concerned about the automotive sector, and in general worried about the overall economy -- in the U.S and globally.

It didn't help that the Federal Reserve issued a gloomy outlook Wednesday, saying the economy is sinking into recession well into next year for a yearlong recession. It also didn't help that the auto bailout seems more unlikely.

Overseas markets followed American stocks lower as fears of global recession ecnompassed all markets. Major Asian markets posted heavy losses, with Japan's Nikkei losing nearly 7%. European shares were also lower, with shares in London, Germany and France trading 1.5-2% lower at the time of this writing. Meanwhile, oil prices fell below $53 a barrel to almost a two-year low Thursday on demand concerns..

Economic releases today include weekly jobless claims, which due at 8:30 a.m. EST. Somehow, economists think the number of claims have declined the past week. October leading indicators and November Philadelphia-area economic gauge are also due at 10:00 a.m. EST, both expected to show declines in economic activity.