Asian shares finished higher, while European shares are trading up. On the U.S. economic front, trading on Thursday might be impacted by reaction to reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales. Earnings also will get special attention.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Discover Financial Services (DFS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Whirlpool (WHR) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were down 21.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 5.75 points, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 32.75 points.
The major U.S. averages ending the session near their best levels on Wednesday. The Dow jumped 316.01 points or 0.9 percent to 34,137.31, the Nasdaq surged up 163.95 points or 1.2 percent to 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 advanced 38.48 points or 0.9 percent to 4,173.42.
On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 615K, while it was at 576K in the prior week.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.58, while it was down 1.09 in the prior month.
National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales for March will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 6.220 million, while it was up 6.220 million a month ago.
The Conference Board’s Leading Indicators for March will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 0.6 percent, while it was up 0.2 percent in February.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was at 61 bcf.
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for April will be issued at 11.00 am ET. The consensus is for 26, while it was up 26 in the prior month.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $7.793 trillion.
Two-year FRN Note, five-year Treasury Note, and seven-year Treasury Note auctions are expected at 11.00 am ET.
Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday, rebounding a bit from recent losses.
The Chinese markets ended mixed. Shanghai’s Composite Index declined 0.23% and Hong Kong’s Hang Sang ended 0.22% up. Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 6.8% in the January – March quarter.
In the Australian market, healthcare and information technology stocks fared well. The major indices S&P/ASX 200 and the All-Ordinaries Index, both ended on a firm note, gaining 0.83% and 0.73%, respectively.
The Japanese stock market rose sharply, with the Nikkei 225 surging up 2.38%. The market breadth was strong with gainers outnumbering losers by 3.5 to 1.
European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 41.83 points or 0.53 percent. The German DAX is adding 79.61 points or 0.52 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 5.20 points or 0.07 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is adding 10.09 points or 0.09 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.73 percent.
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2021-04-22 12:09:05
