Initial jobless claims and the U.S. trade deficit are likely to get attention on Thursday.
Allstate (ALL), Electronic Arts (EA), Etsy (ETSY) Hostess Brands (TWNK) Metlife (MET), Uber (UBER), and Western Digital (WDC) shall release their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.
Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading broadly up.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately positive.
As of 7.50 am ET, the Dow futures were up 57.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 10.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 37.00 points.
The U.S. major averages finished lower on Wednesday. The Dow slumped 323.73 points or 0.9 percent to 34,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 20.49 points or 0.5 percent to 4,402.66. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq spent most of the day lingering near the unchanged line before closing up 19.24 points or 0.1 percent at 14,780.53.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s International Trade in Goods and Services for June will be revealed at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of $74.0 billion, while the decline was $71.2 billion in the previous month.
The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 381K, while it was up 400K in the previous month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.22 trillion.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday. Chinese shares retreated. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dipped 10.67 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,466.55 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 221.86 points, or 0.84 percent, to 26,204.69.
Japanese shares advanced on the day. The Nikkei average inched up 144.04 points, or 0.52 percent, to 27,728.12, while the broader Topix index ended the day 0.39 percent higher at 1,928.98.
Australian markets ended modestly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 7.90 points, or 0.11 percent, to 7,511.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended marginally higher at 7,779.60.
European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 17.69 points or 0.26 percent. The German DAX is adding 8.38 points or 0.05 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 10.90 points or 0.15 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is declining 0.60 points or 0.00 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.24 percent.
Business News
Futures Suggest Moderately Higher Open For Wall Street
2021-08-05 12:14:34