Wall Street Might Continue In Positive Territory

The Labor Department’s initial Jobless Claims and Labor productivity might be the focus on Thursday. Earnings also will be closely monitored.

The discussions to reduce tariff between the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to provide a results today.

Defense stocks might be gaining as tensions between India and Pakistan are on the rise. In the Asian trading session, the dollar index was largely steady. Gold drifted lower while oil edged up slightly.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading in positive zone.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.

As of 8.10 am ET, the Dow futures were up 295.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 50.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 248.00 points.

The U.S. major averages eventually ended Wednesday in positive territory. The Dow advanced 284.97 points or 0.7 percent to 41,113.79, the S&P 500 climbed 24.37 points or 0.4 percent to 5,631.28 and the Nasdaq rose 48.50 points or 0.3 percent to 17,738.16.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 232K, while it was up 242K in the prior week.

The Productivity and Costs for the first quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The non-farm productivity consensus is down 0.5 percent, while it was up 1.5 percent in the prior quarter. The Unit Labor Cost consensus is up 5.2 percent, while it was up 2.2 percent in the previous quarter.

The Commerce Department’s Wholesale Inventories are expected at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is up 0.5 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 107 bcf.

The 30-year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was up $6.709 trillion.
Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.28 percent at 3,352. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed up 0.37 percent at 22,775.92.

Japanese markets eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average rose 0.41 percent to 36,928.63 while the broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 2,698.72.

Australian markets ended modestly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up by 0.16 percent to 8,191.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.26 percent to close at 8,421.70.

European shares are trading higher. CAC 40 of France is gaining 87.65 points or 1.15 percent. DAX of Germany is progressing 265.18 points or 1.15 percent. FTSE 100 of England is adding 24.64 points or 0.29 percent. The Swiss Market Index is increasing 67.54 points or 0.56 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 1.28 percent.

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