Wall Street Aims To Open Broadly Positive

Weekly jobless claims, the trade deficit, and labor productivity might attract traders’ attention on Thursday.

Major companies have scheduled to release their quarterly results today.

The Fed is set to return to normal with tapering of stimulus. As part of the commitment to combat the climate crisis, twenty countries are gearing up to step down support for fossil fuel projects and to stop international financing for coal.

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

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

As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were down 17.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 5.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 61.50 points.

The U.S. major averages all closed in positive territory on Wednesday. The Dow rose 104.95 points or 0.3 percent to 36,157.58, the Nasdaq jumped 161.98 points or 1 percent to 15,811.58 and the S&P 500 climbed 29.92 points or 0.7 percent to 4,660.57.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s International Trade in Goods and Services for September will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a deficit of $76.1 billion, while the deficit in the prior month was $73.3 billion.

Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 277K, while it was up 281K in the prior week.

Labor Department’s Productivity and Costs for the third quarter will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 1.5 percent, while it was up 2.1 percent in the previous quarter.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 87 bcf.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week the level was at $8.556 trillion.

Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday. Chinese markets rose, with consumer staple stocks surging after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index gained 28.33 points, or 0.81 percent, to finish at 3,526.87 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 200.44 points, or 0.80 percent, at 25,225.19.

Japanese shares rose sharply. The Nikkei average climbed 273.47 points, or 0.93 percent, to 29,794.37, while the broader Topix index closed 1.18 percent higher at 2,055.56.

Australian markets rose as banks and tech stocks advanced, offsetting weakness in the energy sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 35.30 points, or 0.48 percent, at 7,428 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 33.30 points, or 0.43 percent, at 7,746.30.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 25.18 points or 0.36 percent. The German DAX is adding 79.85 points or 0.50 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 6.38 points or 0.09 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 47.04 points or 0.38 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.48 percent.

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