Futures Point To Broadly Lower Open For Wall Street

The GDP for the fourth quarter, Jobless Claims as well as Corporate Profits might be the highlight on Thursday.

President Joe Biden might focus on the rapid vaccination drive and the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue bill at his first press conference after two months of his presidency.

Asian shares finished broadly up, while European shares are trading down.

Early cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open mostly lower.

As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were down 17.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 1.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 6.00 points.

The U.S. major averages all closed in negative territory on Wednesday. The Dow edged down just 3.09 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 32,420.06. The Nasdaq plunged 265.81 points or 2 percent to 12,961.89 and the S&P 500 slid 21.38 points or 0.6 percent to 3,889.14.

On the economic front, the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product or GDP will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 4.1 percent, while it was up 4.1 percent in the previous quarter.

The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 730K, while it was 770K in the prior week.

The Corporate Profits for the fourth quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. In the previous close, the After Tax increased 10.3 percent.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the Gas stock was down 11 bcf.

Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for March will be released at 11.00 am ET. The consensus is for 26, while it was up 24.

Seven-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance sheet is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $7.694 trillion.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida to participate in a virtual discussion on the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy at the Institute of International Finance Washington Policy Summit at 10.10 am ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams to participate in virtual roundtable discussion with Syracuse community development leaders focused on housing, health, immigration, and racial equity issues, via videoconference at 10.30 am ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will speak on monetary and fiscal policy in the COVID era before virtual CSU Fullerton Center for Economic Education Fireside Chat, via Webinar at 7.00 pm ET.

Charles Evans to participate in moderated question-and-answer session on current economic conditions and monetary policy before virtual Women in Housing and Finance Public Policy Luncheon, via Zoom.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday. Chinese stocks ended little changed. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended down 3.47 points, or 0.10 percent, at 3,363.59 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged down 18.53 points to finish at 27,899.61.

Japanese shares rose sharply. The Nikkei average ended up 324.36 points, or 1.14 percent at 28,729.88. The broader Topix index closed 1.40 percent higher at 1,955.55.

Australian markets ended a choppy session slightly higher on optimism about the U.S. economic recovery. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 11.80 points, or 0.17 percent, to 6,790.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 8.70 points, or 0.12 percent, at 7,022.60.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is losing 13.00 points or 0.22 percent. The German DAX is down 21.22 points or 0.15 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 11.79 points or 0.18 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 28.49 points or 0.26 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.28 percent.

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