Stock Futures Decline After ECB Disappoints

September crude oil futures were up 43 cents at $89.34 a barrel. December gold futures were up by $1.40 at $1,608.70 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was rising 1/32, diluting the yield to 1.528%. The greenback was trading down 0.31%, according to the dollar index.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down by 0.66% and the Nikkei in Japan closed up by 0.13%.

The major U.S. averages closed lower Wednesday amid an unusual amount of volatility and after the Federal Reserve failed to signal any immediate easing.

In corporate news, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) suspended a mid-stage study of its experimental hepatitis C drug BMS-094 due to a serious safety issue.

The safety issue that forced the company to suspend the phase II study of BMS-094 is believed to be heart failure, according to ISI Group analyst Mark Schoenebaum.

BMS-094 was the sole reason behind Bristol-Myers' $2.5 billion acquisition of Inhibitex last January.

American International Group(AIG) is looking to buy back a large amount of its shares from the government in a push that could make the U.S. a minority shareholder by the fall and allow the insurer to fully repay its bailout sooner than expected, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the company's thinking.

The source of Wednesday's trading problem in about 150 stocks was traced to Knight Capital Group(KCG) , which said its market-making unit had suffered a software glitch that was interfering with its system's interaction with the New York Stock Exchange.

Knight Capital said in a press statement released Thursday morning that it has traded out of its entire erroneous trade position, which has resulted in a realized pretax loss of about $440 million.

-- Written by Andrea Tse in New York.