Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street

Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the upside after ending yesterday’s trading little changed.

The futures remained in positive territory following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease by initial jobless claims in the week ended June 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 236,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 246,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 245,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked by much more than expected in the month of May.

The report said durable goods orders soared by 16.4 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 6.6 percent in April.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to surge by 8.5 percent compared to the 6.3 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a substantial increase in orders for transportation equipment, durable orders climbed by 0.5 percent in May after coming in unchanged in April. Ex-transportation orders were expected to come in flat.

Meanwhile, revised data released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy shrank by more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2025.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product fell by 0.5 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.2 percent dip. Economists had expected the decrease by GDP to be unrevised.

The bigger than previously estimated decline primarily reflecting downward revisions to consumer spending and exports that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports.

Stocks initially extended the rally seen to start the week early in the session on Wednesday before giving back ground over the course of the trading day. The major averages pulled back off their early highs, eventually ending the day narrowly mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 61.02 points or 0.3 percent to a new four-month closing high of 19,973.55, the S&P 500 edge down 0.02 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,092.16 and the Dow slipped 106.59 points or 0.3 percent to 42,982.43.

The initial strength on Wall Street partly reflected recent upward momentum, which saw stocks move sharply higher over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders continue to monitor developments in the Middle East following yesterday’s news of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

The subsequent pullback by the markets may have reflected profit taking after the major averages reached their highest intraday levels in four months.

The strong upward moves seen on Monday and Tuesday also lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 back within striking distance of their record highs.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in the month of May.

The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 13.7 percent to an annual rate of 623,000 in May after spiking by 9.6 percent to a revised rate of 722,000 in April.

Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 7.1 to an annual rate of 690,000 from the 743,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Commercial real estate stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index down by 2.4 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among housing stocks following the new home sales data, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index slumping by 1.9 percent.

Oil service, airline and natural gas stocks also saw notable weakness, while strength among networking stocks contributed to the uptick by the Nasdaq.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.32 to $65.24 a barrel after climbing $0.55 to $64.92 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $9.20 to $3,343.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging up $2.90 to $3,346 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.34 yen versus the 145.24 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1706 compared to yesterday’s $1.1659.

Asia

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, with Japanese markets hitting a nearly five-month high boosted by tech shares, while Seoul stocks fell sharply due to profit taking following the recent market rally.

Gold ticked higher in Asian trading, as the dollar weakened after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was considering replacing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as early as September or October.

Oil extended overnight gains as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stocks signaled firm demand.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.2 percent at 3,448.45 after a choppy session as traders assessed simmering economic and geopolitical risks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6 percent to 24,325.40, with tech and property stocks leading losses on Fed independence fears and anxiety ahead of Trump’s looming tariff deadline.

Japanese stocks bucked the weak regional trend as tech stocks surged, fueled by Nvidia’s record high close overnight amid positive sentiment around AI adoption.

The Nikkei 225 Index closed up 1.7 percent at 39,584.58, after having hit 39,615.59 in intraday trading, a level last seen on January 31st.

The broader Topix Index settled 0.8 percent higher at 2,804.69. Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group surged 4-6 percent.

Automakers ended mostly lower as Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa reiterated that U.S. auto tariffs are unacceptable and it is in the national interest to protect the auto industry.

Seoul stocks snapped a five-day rally, with the Kospi finishing 0.9 percent lower at 3,079.56. Tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 1.8 percent, top automaker Hyundai Motor tumbled 3.5 percent and internet portal operator Naver plummeted 7.9 percent.

Australian markets ended marginally lower as weakness across technology names overshadowed strength in the resources sector.

Xero slumped 5.3 percent after announcing capital raising at a discount to fund its acquisition of U.S.-Israeli payments provider Melio Payments.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index edged up by 0.2 percent to 12,480.05, snapping a six-day losing streak.

Europe

European shares are mostly higher on Thursday despite worries over Fed independence and anxiety ahead of the impending deadline for U.S. President Trump’s tariff deferrals.

In economic news, German consumer confidence is set to drop in July after rising for three straight months as rising willingness to save offset the positive impetus provided by improved income prospects, a survey revealed.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell unexpectedly to -20.3 in July from -20.0 in the previous month, according to a survey jointly published by the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed. The expected score was -19.1.

The German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

3i Group shares have rallied. The investment manager said that its majority-owned business, Action, continued to perform “strongly”, with like-for-like sales growth of 6.9 percent in the year to date.

Tile retailer Topps Tiles has also shown a strong move to the upside after naming a new CEO and interim CFO.

Clothing retailer Next has also risen after reporting a strong fiscal first quarter performance and lifting its fiscal-year guidance for the second time.

Balfour Beatty, a construction and infrastructure group, has also jumped on winning an 833 million-pound ($1.14 billion) contract from French energy firm Technip Energies.

Fashion retailer H&M has also soared after its second quarter profit beat expectations.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell in the week ended June 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 236,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 246,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 245,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 245,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 245,750.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked by much more than expected in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The report said durable goods orders soared by 16.4 percent in May after tumbling by a revised 6.6 percent in April.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to surge by 8.5 percent compared to the 6.3 percent slump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a substantial increase in orders for transportation equipment, durable orders climbed by 0.5 percent in May after coming in unchanged in April. Ex-transportation orders were expected to come in flat.

Meanwhile, revised data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the U.S. economy shrank by more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2025.

The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product fell by 0.5 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.2 percent dip. Economists had expected the decrease by GDP to be unrevised.

The bigger than previously estimated decline primarily reflecting downward revisions to consumer spending and exports that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack is due to delivery opening remarks before the “Building Strong and Sustainable Communities” Policy Summit 2025 at 9 am ET.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of May. Pending home sales are expected to dip by 0.3 percent in May after plunging by 6.3 percent in April.

The Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes at 1 pm ET.

At 1:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr is scheduled speaks on “Community Development at the Federal Reserve” before the “Building Strong and Sustainable Communities” Policy Summit 2025.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is due to participate in a town hall and Q&A at the Montana Chamber of Commerce at 7 pm ET.