The focal point on Thursday might be the Weekly Jobless Claims report. Indications from the U.S. Futures Index suggest a positive start for Wall Street.
During the Asian trading session, the dollar index remained near its multi-year highs, while gold saw a minor increase, and oil maintained its year-end gains. Asian markets ended mostly lower, and European shares are broadly experiencing declines.
As of 7:45 am ET, Dow futures were up by 305 points, S&P 500 futures increased by 48.25 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 219.5 points.
On the previous trading day, the U.S. major indexes experienced declines. The Nasdaq dropped 175.99 points, or 0.9%, to 19,310.79, while the S&P 500 decreased by 25.31 points, or 0.4%, to 5,881.63. The Dow saw a smaller decline, slipping 29.51 points, or 0.1%, to 42,544.22.
Economically, the Jobless Claims report for the week is scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET, with a consensus forecast of 225K, compared to 219K in the previous week. The PMI for December will be out at 9:45 am ET, expected to remain at 48.3, the same as the prior month's figure. Construction Spending data for November is due at 10:00 am ET, anticipated to show a 0.3% increase following a 0.4% rise the previous month. The EIA's Petroleum Status Report will be released at 11:00 am ET; last week's figures showed a 4.2 million-barrel decrease in crude oil inventories and a 1.6 million-barrel rise in gasoline inventories. The Federal Balance Sheet will be disclosed at 4:30 pm ET, with the prior week's level at $6.886 trillion.
The Treasury is conducting both three-year and 10-year Note auctions at 11:00 am ET, alongside a 30-year Treasury Bond auction.
Asian markets generally closed lower on Thursday, reflecting a subdued start to the New Year. Markets in China and Hong Kong saw significant drops, with China's Shanghai Composite Index falling 2.66% to 3,262.56, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index decreasing by 2.18% to 19,623.32. Japanese markets remained closed until January 6. Conversely, Australian markets ended higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 climbing 0.52% to 8,201.20, and the broader All Ordinaries Index advancing 0.53% to 8,465.
In Europe, share movement is largely negative. France's CAC 40 decreased by 50.42 points, or 0.68%; Germany's DAX is slightly up by 11.01 points, or 0.06%; England's FTSE 100 is gaining 39.88 points, or 0.49%; and the Swiss Market Index increased by 11.56 points, or 0.10%. The Euro Stoxx 50, representing blue-chip leadership within the Eurozone, is down 0.51%.
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