U.S. Stocks May Extend Yesterday’s Rebound In Early Trading

Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Thursday, extending the rebound seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.4 points.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates may continue to inspire traders to get back into the markets following the notable pullback seen to start the week.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told members of Congress on Wednesday that the central bank is likely to begin cutting interest rates later this year.

While Powell also reiterated officials needs “greater confidence” inflation is slowing, traders remain optimistic the Fed will begin cutting rates in June.

The futures did not show much reaction to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged from an upwardly revised level in the week ended March 2nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims came in at 217,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level.

Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of January amid a jump in the value of imports.

The report said the trade deficit increased to $67.4 billion in January from a revised $64.2 billion in December.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $63.5 billion from the $62.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider trade deficit came as the value of imports jumped by 1.1 percent to $324.6 billion, while the value of exports inched up by 0.1 percent to $257.2 billion.

A separate Labor Department report said the surge in labor productivity in the fourth quarter was unrevised at 3.2 percent, while the increase in unit labor costs was downwardly revised to 0.4 percent from 0.5 percent.

Following a notable pullback to start the week, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day but remain well off their recent record highs.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed 91.95 points or 0.6 percent to 16,031.54, the S&P 500 rose 26.1 points or 0.5 percent to 5,104.76 and the Dow edged up 75.86 points or 0.2 percent to 38,661.05.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.40 to $78.73 a barrel after jumping $0.98 to $79.13 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15.60 to $2,141.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $10.30 to $2,168.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.62 yen versus the 149.38 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0879 compared to yesterday’s $1.0899.

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