U.S. Stocks May Move To The Upside As Traders Digest Data

With traders digesting a slew of key U.S. economic data, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.

The futures remained positive even after the Labor Department released a report showing producer prices increased by much more than expected in the month of February.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.6 percent in February after rising by 0.3 percent in January. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by another 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 1.6 percent in February from a revised 1.0 percent in January.

Economists had expected the year-over-year price growth to rise to 1.1 percent from the 0.9 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales rebounded in the month of February, although the increase fell short of economist estimates.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in February after slumping by a revised 1.1 percent in January.

Economists had expected retail sales to increase by 0.8 percent compared to the 0.8 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in February after falling by 0.8 percent in January. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.5 percent.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower in the week ended February 9th.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 209,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 210,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 218,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Not long after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on business inventories in the month of January. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent in January after climbing by 0.4 percent in December.

Following the significant rebound seen during Tuesday’s session, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent most of the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line before closing mixed.

While the Dow inched up 37.83 points or 0.1 percent to 39,043.32, closing higher for the third consecutive session, the S&P 500 dipped 9.96 points or 0.2 percent to 5,165.31 and the Nasdaq fell 87.87 points or 0.5 percent to 16,177.77.

In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Thursday. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent and the German DAX Index has risen by 0.3 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.74 to $80.46 a barrel after surging $2.16 to $79.72 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after rising $14.70 to $2,180.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $11.70 to $2,169.10 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.65 yen versus the 147.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0939 compared to yesterday’s $1.0948.