Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

Stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday after ending yesterday’s volatile session mostly lower. 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 upward momentum on Wall Street comes on the heels of four-day losing streaks for the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which have fallen to their lowest levels in almost two months.

Traders may once again look to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the recent weakness, although recent bargain hunting efforts have been thwarted by ongoing concerns the Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates until later in the year.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits remained flat in the week ended April 13th.

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 212,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed growth in regional manufacturing has unexpectedly seen a considerable acceleration in the month of April.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to 15.5 in April from 3.2 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 1.5.

Among individual stocks, shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the homebuilder reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

E-commerce giant eBay (EBAY) is also likely to see initial strength after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Overweight from Underweight.

On the other hand, shares of Etsy (ETSY) may come under pressure after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the online craft marketplace’s stock to Underweight from Equal Weight.

Not long after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of March. Economists expect existing home sales to pull back to an annual rate of 4.20 million in March after surging to a rate of 4.38 million in February.

The Conference Board is also due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of March. The leading economic index is expected to come in unchanged in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February.

Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before eventually ending the day mostly lower. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 extended their losing streaks to four days, falling to their lowest closing levels in nearly two months.

The major averages all finished the day red, although the Dow posted a relatively modest loss, edging down 45.66 points or 0.1 percent to 37,753.31. The S&P 500 slid 29.20 points or 0.6 percent to 5,022.21 and the Nasdaq tumbled 181.88 points or 1.2 percent to 15,683.37.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi surged by 2.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a lackluster performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.41 to $82.28 a barrel after plunging $2.67 to $82.69 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slumping $19.40 to$2,388.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $9.40 to $2,397.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.40 yen versus the 154.39 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0661 compared to yesterday’s $1.2454.

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