A big drop in U.S. initial jobless claims is being overshadowed by the news of terrorist bombings in Turkey. The European bourses are down, as are Wall Street futures.

A pair of blasts hit the British consulate and HSBC’s headquarters in Istanbul, killing at least 25 and injuring nearly 400. Al-Qaeda and a Turkish Islamic militant group, IBDA-C, were said to have jointly claimed responsibility.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department is reporting that the number of workers filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week. Initial jobless claims decreased by 15,000 to 355,000.

Asian markets closed before the bombings in Turkey. Tokyo shares ended higher after technology and banking stocks got a boost from yesterday’s gains on Wall Street.

The Nikkei surged 251.10 points, or 2.6%, finishing at 9,865.70. In Hong Kong shares closed slightly lower as investors stayed on the sidelines.

In Europe at midday, London’s FTSE100 Index is down 0.6% at 4,327.4. In Paris the CAC40 Index is 1.1% lower at 3,306.27. Frankfurt’s DAX has fallen 1.1%.

Yesterday, the Toronto S&P/TSX composite index closed up 63.70 points to 7,801.09. The Dow Jones industrial average added 66.30 to 9,690.46. The Nasdaq composite gained 17.90 points at 1,899.65. The S&P 500 added 8.29 climbing to 1,042.44.