Wall Street Targets Positive Open

Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.
Asian shares finished positive, while European shares are trading mostly up.

Trading on Thursday may continue to be impacted by the reaction to the Fed announcement. The weekly jobless claims report might be a special focus on the day.

As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 201.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 24.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 78.25 points.

The U.S. major averages all posted strong gains on Wednesday. The Dow jumped 338.48 points or 1 percent at 34,258.32, the Nasdaq surged up 150.45 points or 1 percent to 14,896.85 and the S&P 500 shot up 41.45 points or 1 percent to 4,395.64.

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 309K, while it was up 332K in the previous week.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 0.50, while it was up 0.53 in July.

The flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI for September will be released at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 55.5.

The Conference Board’s Leading Indicators for August will be issued at 10.00 am. The consensus is for a growth of 0.6 percent, while it was up 0.9 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 83 bcf.

Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for September will be revealed at 11.00 am ET. The consensus is for 29, while it was up 29 in August.

Five-year and seven-year Treasury Note auctions will be held at 11.00 am ET.

The 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities or TIPS auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.449 trillion.

Asian stocks rallied on Thursday. Japanese markets were closed for local holidays.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.38 percent in the day’s trade to close at 3,642.22. The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 289.44 points or 1.19 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 24,510.98.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 closed trading at 7,370.20 after gaining 73.30 points or 1.00 percent. The index is currently 3.44 percent below its 52-week high of 7632.80.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 53.82 points or 0.80 percent. The German DAX is adding 128.01 points or 0.82 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 2.37 points or 0.03 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 98.58 points or 0.83 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.94 percent.

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