Futures Pointing To Another Mixed Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open on Thursday, with the major averages likely to move in opposite directions after spending much of the previous session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow futures jumped following the release of a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

The report said real gross domestic product shot up by 2.6 percent in the third quarter following a 0.6 percent drop in the second quarter and a 1.6 percent slump in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.4 percent.

The Commerce Department said the rebound in GDP reflected increases in exports, consumer spending, non-residential fixed investment, federal government spending and state and local government spending,

The data may offset recent concerns about an impending recession but may also derail recent optimism about the Federal Reserve slowing the pace of interest rate hikes.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) is likely to weigh on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, with the Facebook parent plunging by 22.6 percent in pre-market trading.

The sharp decline by shares of Meta comes after the company reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings and provided disappointing guidance.

After closing sharply higher for three straight sessions, the major U.S. stock indexes went on a roller coaster ride over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed wild swings after an early sell-off before eventually ending the session down 228.12 points or 2.0 percent to 10,970.99.

The S&P 500 also slid 28.51 points or 0.7 percent to 3,830.60, while the narrower Dow inched up 2.37 points or less than a tenth of a percent to a new one-month closing high of 31,839.11.

The steep drop by the Nasdaq came amid a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

Shares of Microsoft tumbled by 7.7 percent after the software giant reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

Google parent Alphabet also plunged by 9.1 percent after reporting third quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, the slight uptick by the Dow came amid a strong gain by shares of Visa (V), with the credit card giant jumping by 4.6 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new home sales in the U.S. pulled back sharply in September after unexpectedly skyrocketing in August, although the decrease was smaller than expected.

The report showed new home sales tumbled by 10.9 percent to an annual rate of 603,000 in September after soaring by 24.7 percent to a revised rate of 677,000 in August.

Economists had expected new home sales to plunge by 14.6 percent to a rate of 585,000 from the 685,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the pullback by the broader indices, tobacco stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 6.3 percent to its best closing level in well over a month.

Substantial strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 4.8 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The index shot up to a four-month closing high. The rally by oil service stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil.

An increase by the price of gold also contributed to considerable strength among gold stocks, resulting in a 3.0 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Biotechnology, telecom and transportation stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while retail, semiconductor and housing stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are advancing $0.81 to $88.72 a barrel after surging $2.59 to $87.91 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $11.20 to $1,669.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $4 to $1,665.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 146.59 yen versus the 146.37 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0022 compared to yesterday’s $1.0081.

Asia

Asian shares ended mixed on Thursday as Fed pivot hopes were offset by concerns over China’s growth trajectory.

The dollar was pinned near one-month lows on bets of a less hawkish Fed, while oil slipped in Asian trading after having surged nearly 3 percent on Wednesday, bolstered by record crude exports in the United States.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.6 percent to 2,982.90 after data showed profits at China’s industrial firms sank for a third consecutive month in September.

Power generating giant Datang International Power Generation plunged 10 percent after reporting weak third-quarter earnings.

The yuan briefly touched a 1-1/2-week high against the dollar before reversing course amid reports that Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest are tightening curbs against growing COVID outbreaks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.7 percent to 15,427.94.

Japanese shares fell amid reports of intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan in currency markets. Focus shifted to an interest rate decision by the Bank of Japan on Friday, when the central bank is expected to stick with rock-bottom rates.

The Nikkei 225 Index eased 0.3 percent to settle at 27,345.24, while the broader Topix closed 0.7 percent lower at 1,905.56. Automakers led the losses, with Toyota Motor, Nissan and Honda falling 1-2 percent.

Seoul stocks rallied after data showed the country’s economy grew 0.3 percent in the September quarter backed mostly by consumer spending and investment in facilities. The Kospi jumped 1.7 percent to 2,288.78, extending gains for a second straight session.

Samsung SDI topped the gainers list to close 7.4 percent higher at 727,000 won, while chip giant SK Hynix lost 4.2 percent after reporting sluggish third-quarter earnings earlier this week.

Australian shares rose to their highest levels in over a month. The resources-heavy S&P/ASX 200 Index rose half a percent to 6,845.10 as gains in commodity prices on the back of a weaker dollar helped lift miners and energy stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 0.5 percent to close at 7,042.30.

Lynas Rare Earths shares soared 5.6 percent after the rare-earths miner reported a 35 percent jump in first-quarter revenue on strong rare earths demand.

Europe

European stocks are mostly lower on Thursday, with tech stocks leading losses after Facebook parent Meta Platforms forecast a weak holiday quarter and significantly higher costs next year.

The downside remained capped after survey results from the market research group GfK showed that German consumer confidence is set to improve in November.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -41.9 in November, in line with expectations, from revised -42.8 in October.

European stocks remained mostly lower after the European Central Bank announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates by 75 basis points.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.7 percent.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse has showed a substantial move to the downside after posting a hefty third-quarter loss.

Miner Anglo American has also tumbled in London after reporting flat third-quarter production.

Lloyds Banking Group has also moved lower after profits at the bank dropped by 26 percent in the three months to September.

Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics has also slumped after saying it expects sales growth to slow in the last part of the year.

On the other hand, energy giant Shell has rallied after profits more than doubled between July and September.

Energy services company Hunting Plc has also moved higher after posting improved performance in the third quarter.

Casino Group shares have also jumped. The French retailer said its third-quarter total consolidated net sales rose 5.4 percent on a same-store basis from a year earlier.

TotalEnergies has also moved to the upside. The energy and petroleum company said its third-quarter earnings more than doubled to about $9.9 billion, boosted by higher LNG prices and sales.

Airline Lufthansa has also moved notably higher after it forecast strong air travel demand in the months ahead.

U.S. Economic Reports

Following two straight quarters of contraction, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter.

The report said real gross domestic product shot up by 2.6 percent in the third quarter following a 0.6 percent drop in the second quarter and a 1.6 percent slump in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.4 percent.

The Commerce Department said the rebound in GDP reflected increases in exports, consumer spending, non-residential fixed investment, federal government spending and state and local government spending,

Meanwhile, the report noted decreases in residential fixed investment and private inventory investment limited the upside.

The Labor Department also released a report showing a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 22nd.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 217,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 214,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edge up to 220,000.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 219,000, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 212,250.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by less than expected in the month of September.

The Commerce Department durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in September following a revised 0.2 percent uptick in August.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to increase by 0.6 percent in September compared to the 0.2 percent dip that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders fell by 0.5 percent in September after coming in unchanged in August. Ex-transportation orders were expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $35 billion worth of seven-year notes.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of Sleep Number (SNBR) are plunging in pre-market trading after the mattress retailer reported better than expected third quarter results but provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

Invisalign maker Align Technology (ALGN) is also seeing substantial pre-market weakness after reporting third quarter results that came in well below analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, shares of ServiceNow (NOW) are likely to see an initial surge after the software company reported better than expected third quarter earnings.

Telecom giant Comcast (CMCSA) may also move to the upside after reporting third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.