Futures Point To Lower Open For Wall Street

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index point to a lower open for Wall Street on Thursday. Investors might be reacting to the Labor Department’s report on initial jobless claims and other economic announcements.

Asian shares finished mostly lower, while European shares are trading mostly down.
As of 8.00 a.m. ET, the Dow futures were down 50.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 21.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 123.75 points.

The U.S. major averages remained firmly negative at Wednesday’s closing. The Nasdaq tumbled 148.48 points or 1.1 percent to 13,872.47, the S&P 500 slid 31.35 points or 0.7 percent to 4,465.48 and the Dow fell 198.78 points or 0.6 percent to 34,443.19.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 238K, while it was up 228K in the prior week.

The Productivity and Costs for the second quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is up 3.6 percent, while it was up 3.7 percent in the prior quarter.

The Quarterly Services Survey for the second quarter will be issued at 10.00 am ET. In the prior quarter the selected services revenue was up 1.6 percent.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA Natural Gas Report for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 32 bcf. The Petroleum Status report for the week will be announced at 11.00 am ET. In the prior week, the crude oil inventories were down 10.6 million barrels and the gasoline inventories were down 0.2 million barrels.

Three-year, 10-year Treasury Note auction and 30-year Treasury Bond auction announcements will be held at 11.00 am ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.121 trillion.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will speak on the economic outlook in a moderated conversation hosted by Broward College at 3.45 pm ET. He will also speak on economic mobility before the Prosperity Partnership/Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance Foundation dinner at 7.00 pm ET.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will participate in moderated discussion before the Bloomberg Market Forum at 3.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks drifted lower on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 1.13 percent to 3,122.35 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.34 percent to close at 18,202.07.

Japanese shares snapped an eight-day winning streak. The Nikkei average dropped 0.75 percent to 32,991.08 while the broader Topix index closed 0.38 percent lower at 2,383.38.

Australian markets tumbled. The benchmark S&P ASX 100 fell 1.19 percent to 7,171 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed down 1.16 percent at 7,374.90.

European shares are trading mostly lower. CAC 40 of France is down 4.44 points or 0.06 percent. DAX of Germany is declining 41.82 points or 0.27 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 8.43 points or 0.11 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 41.68 points or 0.38 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.39 percent.

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