Futures are red

Global stock markets are sharply lower on Thursday morning and stock futures are tanking ahead of the US market open.

Near 7:17 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 131 points, S&P 500 futures were down 15 points, and Nasdaq futures were down 31 points.

Yesterday's session was quite wobbly. The Dow plunged more than 200 points in the morning after data showed softer-than-expected inflation in July. And then, after the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes leaked, stocks bounced well off their lows, only to tumble again into the close. The Dow closed down 162 points.

The minutes showed that FOMC members think economic conditions are nearing those appropriate for a rate hike, although they gave little clues on the timing. In a note to clients, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists said the market is now only pricing a 33% chance that the Fed will raise rates in September, from about 50% before the minutes.

And now, stock futures are getting crushed. Global markets are also sharply lower. The DAX in Germany, the CAC in France, and the Euro Stoxx 50 all fell more than 1%.

Chinese stocks are getting clobbered again, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite down more than 3%. And this morning, Citi economists cut their outlook for growth in the world's second-largest economy.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil is really close to falling below $40 per barrel for the first time since March 2009. Futures in New York fell to as low as $41.21 per barrel on Thursday.

In economic data due today, initial jobless claims numbers cross at 8:30 a.m. ET. Existing home sales, and the Philly Fed's business outlook survey are due at 10:00 a.m.