Wall Street Set To Open Broadly Higher

Initials cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly higher on Thursday.

Data on jobless claims for the week, second-quarter GDP, and a report on personal consumption expenditure are due today.

Asian shares finished higher, while European shares are trading positively.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 126.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 7.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 9.50 points.

The U.S. majors finished higher on Wednesday. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index surged higher and settled at 14,762.58, gaining 102.01 points or 0.7 percent. The Dow ended down by 127.59 points or 0.36 percent at 34,930.93, while the S&P 500 edged down 0.82 points or 0.02 percent to 4,400.64.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP for the second quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 8.0 percent, while it was up 6.4 percent in the prior quarter.

The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 390K, while it was up 419K in the previous week.

Pending Home Sales Index for June will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 0.8 percent, while it was up 8.0 percent in the previous month.

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 49 bcf.

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

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.24 trillion.

Asian stocks advanced on Thursday. Chinese shares rebounded after three days of declines. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index gained 50.13 points, or 1.49 percent, to settle at 3,411.72 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed up 841.44 points, or 3.30 percent, at 26,315.32.

Japanese shares rose notably. The Nikkei average climbed 200.76 points, or 0.73 percent, to 27,782.42, while the broader Topix index closed 0.41 percent higher at 1,927.43.

Australian markets eked out modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 38.10 points, or 0.52 percent, to 7,417.40. The broader All Ordinaries index inched up 45.60 points, or 0.60 percent, to 7,695.20.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 50.95 points or 0.77 percent. The German DAX is adding 70.85 points or 0.45 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 65.86 points or 0.94 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 16.61 points or 0.14 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.53 percent.

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