U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Recent Pullback

Following the steep drop seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following recent weakness on Wall Street, which has seen the Dow and the S&P 500 pull back well of last Friday’s record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is likely to benefit from a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), as the electric vehicle maker is soaring by 14.2 percent in pre-market trading.

The spike by Tesla comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.

Shares of UPS (UPS) are also seeing significant pre-market strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a slump by shares of IBM (IBM) may limit any upside for the Dow, with the tech giant tumbling by 3.1 percent in pre-market trading after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.

Fellow Dow component Boeing (BA) may also come under pressure after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.

Nonetheless, the broader markets may benefit from a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after reaching its highest levels in almost three months.

Stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday and saw further downside over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the Dow and the S&P 500 extending their losing streaks to three days.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels late in the session but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 409.94 points or 1.0 percent to 42,514.95, the Nasdaq tumbled 296.47 points or 1.6 percent to 18,276.65 and the S&P 500 slid 53.78 points or 0.9 percent to 5,797.42.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.51 to $71.28 a barrel after slumping $0.97 to $70.77 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after plunging $30.40 to $2,729.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $21.80 to $2,751.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 152.21 yen versus the 152.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0793 compared to yesterday’s $1.0782.