U.S. Stocks Likely To See Early Strength On Upbeat Earnings, Economic Data

Following the pullback seen over the course of the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 162 points.

The Dow is likely to benefit from an early advance by shares of Bank of America (BAC), with the financial giant moving higher in pre-market trading after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Fellow Dow component UnitedHealth (UNH) may also see initial strength after the managed care company reported first quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Shares of Citigroup (C) are also seeing notable pre-market strength after the financial giant reported first quarter results that exceeded estimates.

Early buying interest may also be generated in reaction to a batch of better than expected U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales spiked by much more than expected in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said retail sales skyrocketed by 9.8 percent in March after tumbling by a revised 2.7 percent in February.

Economists had expected retail sales to surge up by 5.9 percent compared to the 3.0 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales soared by 8.4 percent in March after plunging by a revised 2.5 percent in February. Ex-auto sales were expected to jump by 5.0 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by much more than anticipated in the week ended April 10th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims tumbled to 576,000, a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 769,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to decline to 700,000 from the 744,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the much bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 256,000 in the week ended March 14, 2020.

Just before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of March. Economists expect industrial production to jump by 2.8 percent in March after slumping by 2.2 percent in February.

The National Association of Home Builders is due to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of April shortly after the start of trading. The housing market index is expected to inch up to 83 in April from 82 in March.

The Commerce Department is also scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of February. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.5 percent.

Stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after moving to the upside early in the session. Reflecting weakness among technology stocks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower.

After jumping by 1.1 percent in the previous session to its highest closing level in nearly two months, the Nasdaq slumped 138.26 points or 1 percent to 13,857.84.

The S&P 500 also slid 16.93 points or 0.4 percent to 4,124.66 after reaching a new record intraday high in early trading.

On the other hand, the Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the day but still closed up 53.62 points or 0.2 percent at 33,730.89. The blue chip index also set a new record intraday high before giving back ground.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.7 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.30 to $62.85 a barrel after spiking $2.97 to $63.15 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after falling $11.30 to $1,736.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $11.90 to $1,748.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.77 yen versus the 108.93 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1959 compared to yesterday’s $1.1980.

Business News