Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.2 percent.
Profit taking may contribute to an initial pullback on Wall Street, as some traders look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets.
The advance seen during Wednesday’s session lifted the Dow and S&P 500 to new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years.
The S&P 500 reached an intraday peak just of the 5,000 level, which could prove to be a psychological resistance for the broad market index.
The futures did not show much reaction to a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended February 3rd.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level of 227,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 220,000 from the 224,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Among individual stocks, entertainment giant Disney (DIS) is likely to see initial strength after reporting better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings, boosting its dividend and providing an upbeat forecast.
Shares of Arm Holdings (ARM) are also soaring in pre-market trading after the chipmaker reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.
On the other hand, shares of PayPal (PYPL) are seeing significant pre-market weakness after the online payments company reported fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates but provided a disappointing forecast.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of December. Wholesale inventories are expected to rise by 0.4 percent.
After ending Tuesday’s choppy trading session modestly higher, stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Wednesday. The Dow and the S&P 500 set new record closing highs, with the latter reaching an intraday peak just shy of 5,000.
The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained firmly positive. The S&P 500 climbed 40.83 points or 0.8 percent to 4,995.06 and the Dow rose 156.00 points or 0.4 percent to 38,677.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 147.65 points or 1.0 percent to 15,756.64.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is nearly unchanged.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.08 to $74.94 a barrel after climbing $0.55 to $73.86 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.30 to $2,051.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $13.10 to $2,038.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.42 yen versus the 148.18 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0742 compared to yesterday’s $1.0772.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading
2024-02-08 13:53:45
