Wall Street Set To Open Marginally Positive

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately positive.

Asian shares finished broadly up, while European shares are trading broadly lower.

As of 7.20 am ET, the Dow futures were up 135.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 19.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 109.50 points.

The U.S. major stocks ended in the red for the second straight session on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury yields hit fresh two-year highs. The Dow tumbled 339.82 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 35,028.65, while the NASDAQ dropped 166.64 points or 1.15 percent to close at 14,340.25 and the S&P 500 sank 44.35 points or 0.97 percent to end at 4.532.76.

On the economic front, the Jobless Claims for the week will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 207K, while it was up 230K in the prior week.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for January will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 8.30 am ET, while it was up 15.4 in the prior month.

National Association of Realtors’ Existing Home Sales for December will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 6.4 million, while it was up 6.460 million in November.

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 Natural Gas Stock was down 179 bcf. EIA’s Petroleum Status Report for the week will be at 11.00 am. In the prior week, the Crude Oil Inventories were down 4.6 million barrels. Gasoline Inventories were up 8.0 million barrels.

The two-year FRN Note announcement is expected at 11.00, Five year treasury Note auction will be held at 11.00 am ET, while 7-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 11.30 am ET. The 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities or TIPS auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday. Chinese shares ended on a flat note. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped as much as 3.42 percent to 24,952.35.

Japanese shares rebounded from a five-month low. The Nikkei average rallied 305.70 points, or 1.11 percent, to 27,772.93 while the broader Topix index closed 0.98 percent higher at 1,938.53.

Australian markets edged up slightly.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 9.90 points, or 0.14 percent, to 7,342.40, snapping a two-day losing streak. The broader All Ordinaries index ended up 12.30 points, or 0.16 percent, at 7,668.90.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 14.11 points or 0.20 percent. The German DAX is gaining 18.67 points or 0.12 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 4.62 points or 0.06 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is down 17.50 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 0.23 percent.