At 4:21 a.m. ET, futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 were down between 0.1 and 0.3 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of leading European shares was up 0.3 percent at 1,042.50 points, with miners higher on stronger copper prices, which were boosted by the Fed's statement, as were oil prices.

The euro was near five-week highs at $1.3110 though little changed on closing New York levels.

U.S. initial jobless claims are seen correcting up to 370,000 from 352,000 the week before, mostly from the smaller seasonal factor in the week ended January 21 after a reading where claims sunk to a nearly 4-year low. Claims just dropped 50,000 as they worked their way back from a reading that historically sees a rise in the first week of a new year. The data is due at 8:30 a.m ET.

The transportation sector could be a big wildcard for December durable goods, but is seen exerting only a modest drag, pulling the headline down to a 2.0 percent gain from 3.7 percent the month before, according to a Reuters poll of 69 economists.

Starbucks (SBUX.O), the world's biggest coffee chain, reports quarterly results and may offer an early read on the success of its lightest yet "Blonde" roast coffee and an update on its recently introduced K-cups for Green Mountain's (GMCR.O) popular Keurig one-cup brewers.

Other companies reporting include Caterpillar (CAT.N), the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment and telecoms heavyweight AT&T (T.N).

Big profits from Apple (AAPL.O) and a promise from the Federal Reserve to keep rock-bottom rates for at least two more years powered the U.S. stock market higher on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 0.7 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.9 percent, the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC ended 1.1 percent higher.

Stanley Black and Decker (SWK.N) shares slipped 1 percent after the bell following the release of its results.

(Reporting by Brian Gorman. Editing by Jane Merriman)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency