Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

Following the sharp pullback seen over the course of the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by less than a tenth of a percent.

While President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports may generate some negative sentiment, the news may already be priced into the markets after the White House revealed Trump would be making the announcement during the trading day on Wednesday.

However, Trump’s conflicting remarks about tariffs may lead to continued uncertainty on Wall Street, keeping some traders on the sidelines.

Trump told reporters the reciprocal tariffs set to take effect next week will “very lenient” but threatened in a Truth Social post early this morning that he would impose far larger tariffs than currently planned “if the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA.”

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation on Friday.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower in the week ended March 22nd.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 224,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 225,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000 from the 223,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew by slightly more than previously estimated in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The report said gross domestic product surged by 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previously reported 2.3 percent jump. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.

The Commerce Department said the upward revision primarily reflected a downward revision to imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP. A downward revision to consumer spending limited the upside.

Not long after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of February. Pending home sales are expected to jump by 1.5 percent in February after plunging by 4.6 percent in January.

Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the pullback amid significant weakness in the technology sector.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained negative. The Nasdaq plunged 372.84 points or 2.0 percent to 17,889.01, the S&P 500 slumped 64.45 points or 1.1 percent to 5,712.20 and the Dow fell 132.71 points or 0.3 percent to 42,454.79.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 1.0 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.11 to $69.54 a barrel after climbing $0.65 to $69.65 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slipping $3.40 to $3,022.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $36.30 to $3,058.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.69 yen versus the 150.57 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0796 compared to yesterday’s $1.0754.

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