Futures Pointing To Modestly Lower Open On Wall Street

Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Thursday, giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.1 percent.

Traders may look to cash in on the recent rally after comments from a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson partly offset optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal.

Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson He Yadong told reporters there are currently “absolutely no negotiations on the economy and trade between China and the U.S,” according to a CNBC translation.

He added that “all sayings” regarding progress on bilateral talks should be dismissed and said the U.S. should cancel all “unilateral” tariffs on China if it really wants to resolve the problem.

A slump by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) may also weigh on Wall Street, with the tech giant plunging by 6.6 percent in pre-market trading despite reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) may also come under pressure after reporting mixed fiscal third quarter results and cutting its full-year guidance.

On the other hand, shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) are soaring by 9.4 percent in pre-market trading after the chipmaker reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of earnings news from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Intel (INTC) after the close of today’s trading.

Following a substantial move to the upside early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday but held on to strong gains. The major averages all ended the day sharply higher, with the Nasdaq posting a particularly strong gain.

The Nasdaq soared as much as 4.5 percent in early trading before pulling back but still closed up 407.63 points or 2.5 percent at 16,708.05. The S&P 500 also shot up 88.10 points or 1.7 percent to 5,375.86 and the Dow jumped 419.59 points or 1.1 percent at 39,606.57.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.83 to $63.10 a barrel after tumbling $1.40 to $62.27 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after plummeting $125.30 to $3,294.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $58.80 to $3,352.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 142.46 yen versus the 143.45 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1366 compared to yesterday’s $1.1316.