U.S. Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction Following Recent Pullback

Stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday, as traders express uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the pullback seen in recent sessions.

The major index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq futures down by 0.4 percent. The S&P 500 futures are nearly unchanged.

Renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates may continue to weigh on the markets following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

Potentially adding to recent concerns the Fed may not begin lowering rates as soon as expected, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of December.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 164,000 jobs in December after rising by a downwardly revised 101,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 115,000 jobs compared to the addition of 103,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended December 30th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims declined to 202,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 220,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 216,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of December.

After kicking off the new year on a downbeat note, stocks saw further downside over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. The major averages all fell on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing lower for the fourth consecutive session.

The major averages dropped to new lows for the session going into the close of trading. The Nasdaq slumped 173.73 points or 1.2 percent to 14,592.21, the Dow slid 284.85 points or 0.8 percent to 37,430.19 and the S&P 500 fell 38.02 points or 0.8 percent to 4,704.81.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index declined by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have shown modest moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.66 to $73.36 a barrel after surging $2.32 to $72.70 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after plunging $30.60 to $2,042.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $7 to $2,049.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.49 yen versus the 143.29 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0940 compared to yesterday’s $1.0922.

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