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| | US Market |  | | Shanghai | Hang Seng | NIKKEI | ASX |  |  |  |  | | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening on Thursday, reflecting a positive reaction to a mixed batch of economic data. While early buying interest may be generated by a report showing a bigger than expected drop in initial jobless claims, a separate report showing a contraction in first quarter GDP is likely to limit any early strength on Wall Street.
After showing a lack of direction throughout much of the session, stocks came under pressure in the latter part of the trading day on Wednesday and closed modestly lower. The pullback ended a four-day winning streak by the markets.
The major averages ended the day in negative territory but off their lows for the session. The Dow dipped 42.32 points or 0.3 percent to 16,633.18, the Nasdaq slid 11.99 points or 0.3 percent to 4,225.07 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.13 points or 0.1 percent to 1,909.78.
The modestly lower close on Wall Street came on the heels of the recent upward trend by the markets, with the S&P 500 giving back some ground after ending the previous session at a record closing high.
The recent gains also lifted the Dow toward the record highs set earlier this month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended Tuesday’s trading at its best closing level in almost two months.
Despite the late-day pullback by the major averages, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.
Gold stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index dropping by 1.8 percent to its lowest closing level in well over four months. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a continued decrease by the price of the precious metal.
Steel, pharmaceutical, and tobacco stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while strength in the airline sector drove the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.4 percent to a twelve-year closing high. |
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| | US Economic Reports | | | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended May 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 300,000, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 327,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to dip to 317,000 from the 326,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released revised data showing that GDP decreased by 1.0 percent in the first quarter compared to the initial estimate for a 0.1 percent uptick. The revised data had been expected to show a smaller contraction of about 0.5 percent.
The bigger than expected drop primarily reflected a downward revision to private inventory investment and an upward revision to imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of April. Economists expect pending home sales to increase by 1.0 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
NAR said its pending home sales index surged up by 3.4 percent to 97.4 in March after edging down by 0.5 percent to a revised 94.2 in February. Economists had been expecting a much more modest increase of about 0.6 percent.
With the increase in March, the pending home sales index rose for the first time in nine months, although it was still down by 7.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Additionally, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum status report for the week ended May 23rd at 10:30 am ET.
Crude oil stockpiles decreased by 7.2 million barrels to 391.3 million barrels in the week ended May 16th. Consequently, inventories dropped near the upper limit of the average range for this time of the year.
Meanwhile, distillate stockpiles rose by 3.4 million barrels and were below the lower limit of the average range. Gasoline inventories also increased by 1 million barrels and were in the middle of the average range.
Refinery capacity utilization averaged 89.7 percent over the four weeks ended May 16th compared to 90.2 percent over the four weeks ended May 9th.
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is scheduled to deliver a speech in Stanford, California at 9:30 pm ET. |
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| | Stocks in Focus | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Shares of Amsurg (AMSG) are likely to be in focus after the surgery center operator announced an agreement to acquire Sheridan Healthcare in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2.35 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014.
Warehouse retailer Costco (COST) reported fiscal third quarter earnings that rose year-over-year but came in below analyst estimates. The company also reported weaker than expected revenues.
Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) reported a narrower than expected first quarter loss on better than expected revenues. The teen apparel retailer also maintained its full-year earnings forecast. |
| | European Market | | The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line.
In corporate news, shares of Smith & Nephew are rallying in London on a report U.S. medical devices manufacturer Stryker Corp. (SYK) is planning to bid for the company.
On the other hand, Kingfisher is under pressure after the home improvement retailer reported a smaller-than-expected increase in its first-quarter profits.
Rolls-Royce Holdings said it has secured a contract worth 35 million pounds to design and equip a large offshore support vessel for Norwegian ship owner Island Offshore.
In economic news, Spain's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter as initially estimated, final data from the statistical office INE showed. Gross domestic product grew 0.4 percent sequentially after rising 0.2 percent in the previous quarter.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors tread cautiously ahead of the U.S. reports on jobs and economic activity.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose for a sixth consecutive session, although the gains were capped by a stronger yen and disappointing retails sales data. After seeing initial weakness, the index turned higher over the course of the session, edging up 10.77 points or 0.1 percent to 15,681.72.
Pulp and paper, automotive and fishery stocks led the gains. Shares of Nippon Suisan Kaisha soared 10.2 percent after SMBC Nikko Securities upgraded its rating on the stock.
Meanwhile, Australia’s All Ordinaries Index fell marginally as weak iron ore prices hurt minters. The index ended the day down 7.50 points or 0.1 percent at 5,499.20, although it was well off its worst levels.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also dipped 69.89 points or 0.3 percent to 23,010.14, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 9.63 points or 0.5 percent to 2,040.60.
On the economic front, Japanese retail sales fell 4.4 percent year-over-year in April, official data showed, as a rise in the country's sales tax depressed consumer spending. The annual decline marked the biggest drop since the March 2011 earthquake.
Meanwhile, new business investment in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014 following a 4.5 percent drop in the last three months of 2013, official figures showed. That missed forecasts for a decline of 1.9 percent.
A separate industry survey showed that sales of new homes in Australia rose for the fourth straight month in April. |
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude oil futures are climbing $0.30 to $103.02 a barrel after sliding $1.39 to $102.72 a barrel on Wednesday. Gold futures, which dropped $6.20 to $1,259.30 an ounce in the previous session, are currently falling $4.50 to $1,254.80 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 101.75 yen compared to the 101.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3604 compared to yesterday’s $1.3591. |
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