Wall Street Poised To Open In Negative Territory

Earnings reports might continue to drive investor sentiments on Thursday. Geopolitical developments also might get attention as the U.S. has decided to impose sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies. President Trump is said to have cancelled an upcoming meeting with the Russian counterpart Putin in Budapest.

Major corporates such as Tesla (TSLA) and IBM Corp. (IBM) have scheduled their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.

On the economic front, the Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are broadly up.

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

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 100.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 12.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 75.00 points.

The U.S. major averages climbed well off their worst levels in late-day trading but remained firmly negative. The Nasdaq slumped 213.67 points or 0.9 percent to 22,740.40, the Dow slid 334.33 points or 0.7 percent to 46,590.41 and the S&P 500 fell 35.95 points or 0.5 percent to 6,699.40.

On the economic front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for September will be issued at 8.30 am ET. In the prior month the Index was down 0.12.

The Existing Home Sales for September will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 4.06 million, while it was up 4.00 million in the prior month.

The Existing Home Sales for September is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 4.06 million, while it was up 4.00 million in August.

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 report was up 80 bcf.

The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims will be published at 8.30 am ET.

Two-year Floating Rate Note or FRN announcement, 2-year, 5-year and 7-year Treasury Note auctions will will be held at 11.00 am ET.

Five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities or TIPS auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will testify before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on oversight of financial regulators at 10.00 am ET.

Fed Governor Michael Barr will speak on ‘Community Investment’ before the Novogradac 2025 Fall New Markets Tax Credit Conference at 10.25 am ET.

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, with rising tensions between the United States and China, and mixed earnings, including a sharp drop in Tesla’s profit, keeping investors on edge.

According to a White House official, the Trump administration is weighing export restrictions against China that would bar the purchase of a wide swath of critical software in response to China’s tightened rare earth exports.

China’s Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.22 percent at 3,922.41, reversing early losses as investors braced for a key meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump slated for next week.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.72 percent to 25,967.98 as investors awaited a communique outlining the government’s economic, political and social agenda from the four-day Communist Party conclave in Beijing.

Japanese markets extended losses after reaching a new record high earlier in the week. The Nikkei average fell 1.35 percent to 48,641.61 as newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered a fresh package of economic measures aimed at easing the burden of inflation on businesses and households.

The broader Topix index settled 0.39 percent lower at 3,253.78. Among the prominent decliners, Tokyo Electron and Disco Corp lost 3-4 percent.

Seoul stocks ended sharply lower, after having hit record peaks earlier in the day as the Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate steady as widely expected to avoid spurring a housing market rally. The Kospi average fell 0.98 percent to 3,845.56.

Australian markets ended marginally higher, reversing early losses. While higher oil prices boosted energy stocks, miners and banks ended on a sluggish note.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index edged up by 0.53 percent to 13,377.10 with gains seen across most sectors.

The dollar inched up against rivals in Asian trade as investors waited for the delayed release of U.S. consumer inflation data on Friday for clues on the Fed’s rate trajectory.

Gold drifted lower for the third day, falling below $4100 an ounce triggered by some profit-taking action.

Oil prices rallied more than 3 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped “tremendous” new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies in a bid to pressure his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, into ending the war in Ukraine.

U.S. stocks fell overnight as Netflix reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings, Texas Instruments disappointed with its Q4 guidance, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the White House is weighing curbs on exports to China made with U.S. software in retaliation for Beijing’s latest round of rare earth export restrictions.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.9 percent, the Dow dipped 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 declined half a percent.

European shares are trading mostly up. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is up 21.00 points or 0.26 percent. The German DAX is losing 59.41 points or 0.25 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is progressing 59.43 points or 0.61 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is down 26.18 points or 0.21 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is gaining 0.16 percent.

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