Futures Pointing To Initial Weakness On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the downside following the mixed performance seen in the previous session.

Traders may look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach their best closing levels in well over two months on Wednesday.

Stocks have recently benefitted from easing trade concerns after the U.S. reached agreements with the U.K. and China to reduce tariffs.

Early trading may be impacted by reaction to an avalanche of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing producer prices unexpectedly decrease in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.4 percent in April from a revised 3.4 percent in March.

The Labor Department also released a separate report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended May 10th

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 229,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level.

Economists had expected jobless claims to tick up to 229,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Another report released by the Commerce Department showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

After moving to the upside at the start of trading on Wednesday, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the session. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed.

The Dow slipped 89.37 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 42,051.06, while the Nasdaq climbed 136.72 points or 0.7 percent to close at 19,146.81 and the S&P 500 rose 6.03 points or 0.1 percent to end at 5,892.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent rally by the markets, which has seen the S&P 500 rebound strongly from its early April lows to turn positive for 2025.

While trade deals between the U.S. and China and the U.K. have helped ease concerns about President Donald Trump’s trade policies, uncertainty about the eventual outcome continues to hang over the markets.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of a slew of U.S. economic data on Thursday.

While most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, pharmaceutical stocks saw substantial weakness, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index plummeting by 3.1 percent.

Gold stocks also moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.4 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are plunging $1.94 to $61.21 a barrel after falling $0.52 to $63.15 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $59.50 to $3,188.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $0.70 to $3,189 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.85 yen versus the 146.75 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1202 compared to yesterday’s $1.1197.

Asia

Sentiment in Asian markets remained subdued on Thursday as traders digested the latest actions on the trade tariff front. A mood of caution prevailed as markets awaited further developments in trade negotiations as well as progress in the Iran nuclear deal.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.7 percent to finish trading at 3,380.82. The day’s trading ranged between 3,402.87 and 3,378.02. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.6 percent lower at 10,186.45.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slid 327.62 points or 1.0 percent to close at 37,755.51. The day’s trading range was between 37,621 and 37,863.5.

Taiyo Yuden gained 6.8 percent followed by Aozora Bank that gained 5.8 percent. Haseko, Keisei Electric Railway and Yokohama Rubber, all rallied more than 4 percent.

Rakuten plunged 8.8 percent. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma also lost 6 percent. Eisai slipped 5.5 percent followed by Mitsubishi Materials Corp and Dai-chi Life that declined more than 4 percent.

The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell 187.49 points or 0.8 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 23,453.16. The day’s trading range was between a high of 23,710.82 and a low of 23,371.73.

Korean Stock Exchange’s Kospi Index shed 19.21 points or 0.7 percent to close trading at 2,621.36. The day’s trading range was between 2,618.08 and 2,643.83.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 8,297.50, gaining 17.90 points or 0.2 percent from the previous close. The day’s trading range was between 8,257.40 and 8,303.10.

Graincorp jumped 8.8 percent. Insurance Australia Group rallied 5.7 percent. Xero added 4.7 percent followed by Alcoa Corporation and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation that added more than 3 percent.

NRW Holdings plunged 8.3 percent. Bapcor, Treasury Wine Estates, Bellevue Gold, all declined more than 5 percent. Light & Wonder followed with losses of 4.2 percent.

The NZX 50 of the New Zealand Stock Exchange rallied 101.56 points or 0.8 percent to close trading at 12,880.82, versus the previous close of 12,779.26. Trading ranged between 12,747.87 and 12,880.82.

Shares of Heartland Group Holdings jumped 6.3 percent. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Sanford and Oceania Healthcare, all rallied more than 3 percent. Fletcher Building also added 1.8 percent.

Ryman Healthcare lost 3.6 percent. Serko, KMD Brands, and Meridian Energy all declined more than 2 percent. Skycity Entertainment Group also lost close to a percent.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade on Thursday with investors continuing to assess corporate earnings announcements and the developments on the trade front post announcement of U.S.-U.K. and U.S.-China trade agreements.

Investors, looking ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day, are also reacting to the latest economic batch of economic data from region.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent.

In the German market, BMW is down more than 5.5 percent. Merck is down 5.2 percent after the company cut its full-year guidance. Siemens, Allianz, Adidas, Commerzbank, Infineon and Puma are lower by 1.2 to 2.2 percent.

Thyssenkrupp shares are tanking more than 11 percent as the company’s operating profit plunged in the second quarter, hurt by economic uncertainty due to higher tariffs, notably in automotive and steel.

The company saw a 90 percent drop in quarterly adjusted EBIT to 19 million euros ($21 million), significantly lower than forecast.

Rheinmetall is climbing 4.5 percent. MTU Aero Engines, Bayer, Hannover Rueck, Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius, Symrise, E.ON, Deutsche Bank and Siemens Energy are gaining 1 to 2 percent.

In Paris, Kering is declining 3.7 percent and LVMH is down 2.7 percent. ArcelorMittal, Saint-Gobain and Pernod Ricard are down 1.6 to 2 percent. TotalEnergies is lower by about 1 percent.

Engie is advancing 3.2 percent on strong results and earnings guidance. Thales is rising 2.3 percent, while Vinci, Orange, Danone and Unibail Rodamco are up 1 to 1.3 percent.

In the U.K. market, The Sage Group is down more than 4 percent on lower revenues. 3i, Admiral, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Shell, DCC, Tesco, Antofagasta, Endeavour Mining and Glencore also notably lower

Hikma Pharmaceuticals is climbing about 5.5 percent. JD Sports Fashion is gaining 4.7 percent and National Grid is up 3.5 percent.

Compass Group, Aviva, IAG, Vodafone Group, Fresnillo, Hiscox, Convatec Group, British Land Company, BAE Systems, Beazley, AstraZeneca, Smith & Nephew, Rolls-Royce Holdings, British American Tobacco and Centrica are up 1.2 to 3 percent.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone industrial output increased 2.6 percent on a monthly basis, following a monthly growth of 1.1 percent in February. Output was expected to climb 1.7 percent.

Year-on-year, industrial production logged an increase of 3.6 percent after rising 1 percent in February. This was also better than forecast of 2.5 percent. Industrial production increased 2.6 percent on a monthly basis,

A separate report from Eurostat showed the euro area economy grew at a slower than initially estimated pace in the first quarter, according to a flash estimate.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis, which was revised down from 0.4 percent estimated on April 30. This followed fourth quarter’s 0.2 percent expansion.

On a yearly basis, economic growth remained unchanged at 1.2 percent in the first quarter and matched estimated.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed France’s consumer price inflation remained at 0.8 percent in the month of April, the same rate as seen in March and February. The figure also matched the estimate published on April 30.

On a monthly basis, consumer price inflation rose to 0.6 percent from 0.2 percent. The April rate was revised up from 0.5 percent.

Data from Destatis showed whole sale prices in Germany grew 0.8 percent year-on-year in April, following a 1.3 percent rise in March.

The overall inflation in April was due to higher prices for food products, non-ferrous ores and metals, and non-ferrous semi-finished metal products. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices dropped 0.1 percent in April versus an expected increase of 0.2 percent.

The UK economy grew more than expected in the first quarter driven by services and industrial production, the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.7 percent sequentially, following a 0.1 percent growth in the previous quarter. GDP was forecast to advance 0.6 percent. Moreover, this was the fastest growth in a year.

On a yearly basis, real GDP expanded 1.3 percent in the first quarter compared to economists’ forecast of 1.2 percent.

U.S. Economic News

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended May 10th

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 229,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level.

Economists had expected jobless claims to tick up to 229,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 230,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 227,250.

Producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of April, according to a separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.4 percent in April from a revised 3.4 percent in March.

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of April at 9:15 am ET. Industrial production is expected to rise by 0.2 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is due to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of May. The housing market index is expected to come in unchanged in May after inching up to 40 in April.

The Commerce Department is also scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of March at 10 am ET. Business inventories are expected to increase by 0.2 percent in March, matching the uptick seen in February.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the 2025 Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Small Business Credit Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, and Richmond at 2:05 pm ET.