| The Most Lucrative Investment Opportunity of 2018 Over the last decade, the "Oracle of Omaha" has quietly made an extra $4.9 billion using one low-risk strategy. Find out why this approach works so well. CLICK HERE.  | | | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the downside after ending the previous session roughly flat.
Lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates may weigh on the markets as traders continue to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve?s latest monetary policy meeting.
The minutes released Wednesday afternoon showed the Fed continues to favor a ?gradual approach? to raising interest rates, with the meeting participants generally judging that the economy was evolving about as anticipated.
The Fed?s forecasts point to one more rate hike before the end of this year, with CME Group?s FedWatch indicating a nearly 80 percent chance of a quarter-point rate increase in December.
After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of afternoon trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent the afternoon bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory. While the Dow fell 91.74 points or 0.4 percent to 25,706.68, the Nasdaq slipped 2.79 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,642.70 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.71 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,809.21.
The lackluster performance in the afternoon came after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its September monetary policy meeting.
The Fed argued the "gradual approach" would balance the risk of raising rates too quickly, causing a slowdown in the economy, and raising rates too slowly, leading to inflation above the central bank's 2 percent objective.
Looking ahead, the minutes said a few meeting participants expected rates would need to become modestly restrictive for a time.
A number of participants also determined it would be necessary to temporarily raise rates above the longer-run level in order to reduce the risk of a sustained overshooting of the Fed's inflation target.
Meanwhile, a couple of participants indicated they would not favor adopting a restrictive policy stance in the absence of clear signs of an overheating economy and rising inflation.
During the meeting, the Fed decided to raise rates by a quarter point for a third time this year to 2 to 2.25 percent and forecast another rate hike before the end of the year. The central bank's forecasts also pointed to three rate hikes in 2019.
The Fed's assessment that the "gradual approach" to raising rates remains appropriate comes even as President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the central bank for hiking rates too quickly.
Trump continued his assault on the Federal Reserve in an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, calling the central bank the "biggest threat" to his presidency.
Profit taking contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on yesterday's gains amid lingering uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets.
A negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news also weighed on the markets, with tech giant IBM Corp. (IBM) falling after reporting third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.
On the other hand, shares of Netflix (NFLX) surged higher after the video streaming service reported better than expected third quarter earnings, revenues, and subscriber growth.
Negative sentiment was also generated by the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing a much bigger than expected pullback in housing starts in the month of September.
Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, housing stocks ended the day significantly lower. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index tumbled by 1.9 percent after jumping by 2.4 percent in the previous session.
Housing stocks pulled back after moving higher for three straight sessions, with the disappointing housing starts data weighing on the sector.
Considerable weakness was also visible among energy stocks, which moved lower along with the price of crude oil. Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index slumped by 1.6 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dropped by 1.4 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index fell by 1.1 percent.
On the other hand, tobacco stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index up by 1.6 percent. The index rebounded after closing lower for five consecutive sessions.
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First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a modest decrease in the week ended October 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 210,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week?s revised level of 215,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 212,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area grew at a slightly slower rate in the month of October.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity edged down to 22.2 in October from 22.9 in September, although a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. The index had been expected to drop to 20.0.
At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of September. The leading economic index is expected to climb by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in August.
The Treasury Department is due to announce the details of next week?s auctions of two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes at 11 am ET.
At 12:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chairman Randal Quarles is scheduled to give a speech on the economic outlook at an Economic Club of New York luncheon in New York.
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Shares of Sealed Air (SEE) are moving sharply lower in pre-market trading after the bubble wrap manufacturer warned of weaker than expected third quarter earnings and lowered its full-year earnings forecast.
Aircraft and defense systems maker Textron (TXT) may also come under pressure after reporting weaker than expected third quarter results and providing disappointing guidance.
Shares of Gap (GPS) are also seeing pre-market weakness after JPMorgan Chase downgraded its rating on the apparel retailer?s stock to Underweight from Neutral.
On the other hand, shares of Travelers (TRV) may see initial strength after the insurance giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Tobacco producer Philip Morris (PM) is also moving notably higher in pre-market trading after reporting better than expected third quarter results.
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European stocks are turning in a lackluster performance on Thursday as investors digest a slew of earnings reports and ponder the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's September meeting.
The dollar has hit a one-week high and the British pound held stable after reports suggested that Prime Minister Theresa May was open to discussing a longer transition period within the EU.
On a light day on the economic front, data from the Office for National Statistics showed U.K. retail sales dropped more than expected on lower food store sales in September.
Retail sales including auto fuel fell 0.8 percent month-on-month in September, due mainly to a 1.5 percent slump in sales by food stores. Economists had forecast sales to decrease 0.4 percent after rising 0.4 percent in August.
On a yearly basis, overall retail sales volume growth slowed to 3 percent in September from 3.4 percent in August.
While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both lingering near the unchanged line.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has moved lower in Amsterdam after its third quarter turnover declined 4.8 percent from last year, hit by adverse currency effects.
HeidelbergCement has also plunged in Frankfurt after cutting its full-year outlook. Software giant SAP has also declined despite the company raising its guidance for revenues and profits this year.
On the other hand, shares of Ericsson have jumped after the telecom equipment giant reported net income for the third-quarter of 2.7 billion Swedish kronor compared to a loss of 3.5 billion kronor last year.
Novartis has also advanced after the pharmaceutical firm announced an agreement and plan of merger with Endocyte, a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company.
Domino's Pizza Group has soared in London as the pizza chain announced a new 25 million pounds share buyback plan.
Carrefour shares have also jumped after the supermarket reported 2.7 percent growth in sales for the three months ended September 30th, after stripping out currency effects.
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Asian stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday as investors fretted about slowing Chinese growth and the impact of rising U.S. interest rates.
Treasury yields edged higher and the dollar firmed up after minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting showed broad consensus for further interest rate hikes on the back of robust economic growth and strong labor market conditions.
Chinese markets succumbed to heavy selling as core lending data disappointed and the yuan hit its weakest level in almost two years, testing the government's ability to maintain financial stability amid slowing economic growth.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeted 75.20 points or 2.9 percent to 2,486.42 amid fears that the trade dispute with the U.S. might escalate further. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed marginally lower at 25,454.55.
The U.S. Treasury Department has decided not to label China a currency manipulator, but Secretary Steve Mnuchin said China's lack of transparency over its currency and recent weakness in the yuan are of "particular concern" for the U.S. and "pose major challenges to achieving fairer and more balanced trade."
Separately, the Trump administration moved to withdraw from an international treaty on postal rates in a move aimed at pressuring Beijing.
Japanese shares fell in view of hawkish minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting and weak exports data. Heavy selling in the Chinese markets also dented sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 182.96 points or 0.8 percent to 22,658.16, while the broader Topix Index closed 0.5 percent lower at 1,704.64.
Hitachi Construction Machinery lost 2.5 percent, Fanuc slumped 4.1 percent and Murata manufacturing dropped 1.9 percent after data showed Japanese exports fell in September for the first time since 2016.
Rising U.S. yields helped lift financials, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gaining 0.4 percent and T&D Holdings adding 0.7 percent. Inpex and Japan Petroleum both fell around 2 percent after crude oil prices tumbled 3 percent overnight.
Meanwhile, Australian stocks rebounded from early losses to finish marginally higher after data showed the country's unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent last month, the lowest level since April of 2012.
The benchmark S&P-ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index ended slightly higher at 5,942.40 and 6,050.10, respectively.
Woodside Petroleum shed 0.8 percent despite the company reporting a 25 percent increase in third quarter revenue. Likewise, Santos eased 0.3 percent despite reporting a nearly 23 percent increase in third quarter revenue.
The big four banks rose between 0.3 percent and half a percent. Mining giant Rio Tinto gained 0.4 percent and smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group soared 4.5 percent.
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Crude oil futures are tumbling $0.98 to $68.77 a barrel after plunging $2.17 to $69.75 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,228.50, up $1.10 compared to the previous session?s close of $1,227.40. On Wednesday, gold fell $3.60.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 112.49 yen compared to the 112.65 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1508 compared to yesterday?s $1.1515.
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