Wall Street Aims To Open Broadly Lower

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to the latest batch of economic news, including reports on weekly jobless claims, regional manufacturing activity, and industrial production.

Asian shares finished ended mixed, while European shares are trading lower.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower.

As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were declining 156.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 13.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were adding 2.00 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Wednesday a little changed. The Nasdaq edged down 32.70 points or 0.2 percent to 14,644.95, the Dow inched up 44.44 points or 0.1 percent to 34,933.23 and the S&P 500 crept up 5.09 points or 0.1 percent to 4,374.30.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 368K, while it was up 373K in the prior week.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for July will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 28.5, while it was up 30.7 in the prior month.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index for July will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 18.3, while it was up 17.4 in June.

The Labor Department’s Import and Export Prices for June will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.2 percent, while it was up 1.1 percent in the prior month.

The Industrial Production for June will be published at 9.15 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.7 percent, while it was up 0.8 percent in the prior month.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to testify on the Semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress before a hybrid remote Senate Banking Committee hearing at 9.30 am ET.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will participate in a moderated question-and-answer session before virtual 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Economic Summit hosted by the Global Interdependence Center at 11.00 am ET.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday. Chinese shares rallied on the day. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index jumped 36.09 points, or 1.02 percent, to 3,564.59 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 208.81 points, or 0.75 percent, at 27,996.27.

China’s GDP grew 7.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. On a quarterly basis, GDP gained 1.3 percent, up 0.6 percent in the previous three months.

Japanese shares tumbled. The Nikkei average fell 329.40 points, or 1.15 percent, to 28,279.09, while the broader Topix index ended 1.20 percent lower at 1,939.61.

Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dipped 18.80 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 7,335.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 15.20 points, or 0.20 percent, at 7,616.60.

European shares are trading lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 134.15 points or 0.86 percent. The German DAX is losing 140.30 points or 0.89 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is declining 48.49 points or 0.69 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is down 44.85 points or 0.38 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.77 percent.