After turning in a strong performance in recent sessions, stocks may give back ground in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.1 percent.
Traders may look to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which has seen stocks largely offset the sell-off seen earlier this month.
The S&P 500 reached a new record intraday high on Wednesday before giving back some ground, while the Nasdaq is also back within striking distance of its record highs.
Lingering concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed tariff policies may also weigh on Wall Street.
Trump is scheduled to deliver the keynote address before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this morning.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims saw further upside in the week ended January 18th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 223,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.
With the increase, jobless claims continued to regain ground after hitting a nearly eleven-month low in the week ended January 4th.
U.S. stocks closed on a firm note on Wednesday as investors reacted positively to some upbeat earnings updates and corporate news and on continued optimism about a few interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.
The major averages all closed on a strong note, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq recording a more pronounced gain thanks to buoyant earnings and sales guidance by Netflix and Trump’s AI initiative.
The Dow closed up 130.92 points or 0.3 percent, at 44,156.73. The S&P 500 gained 37.13 points or 0.6 percent, settling at 6,086.37, while the Nasdaq jumped 252.56 points or 1.3 percent, to 20,009.34.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advance by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 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 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.05 to $75.49 a barrel after falling $0.39 to $75.44 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $11.70 to $2,770.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $26.60 to $2,744.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.20 yen versus the 156.53 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0405 compared to yesterday’s $1.0409.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading
2025-01-23 13:56:00
