Wall Street Poised To Open In Negative Territory As Middle East Conflicts Escalate

The U.S. is expanding strike on Iran, while Tehran is hitting neighbouring countries and warned that the Strait of Hormuz is an unbreakable redline.

In the Asian trading session, oil prices were slightly lower. Brent crude futures dropped nearly 1 percent to $84.17 a barrel.

Gold prices were notably lower. The U.S. dollar stabilized on Thursday.

Asian shares finished mostly in negative zone, while European shares are trading broadly down.

Initial trends from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly down on Thursday.

As of 8.00 am ET, the Dow futures were up 63.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 22.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 297.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Wednesday. The Nasdaq advanced 162.22 points or 0.6 percent to 26,269.23, the S&P 500 climbed 28.81 points or 0.4 percent to 7,527.40 and the Dow rose 150.37 points or 0.3 percent to 52,658.64.

On the economic front, the Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 220K, while it was up 215K in the prior week.

The Retails Sales for June will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.9 percent in May.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for July is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 14.0, while it was up 10.3 in the prior month.

The Business Inventories for May is expected at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in the prior month.

The Housing Market Index for July will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 35, while it was up 35 in the prior month.

The Pending Home Sales Index for June will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 0.0 percent, while it was up 3.8 percent in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week will be issued at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was 61 bcf.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be released at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was at $6.736 trillion.

Lorie Logan will participate in a moderated question-and-answer session sharing insights about her leadership role at the Federal Reserve at 12.30 pm ET.

Jeffrey Schmid will speak on the Federal Reserve, monetary policy and the economic outlook before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Forum at 1.25 pm ET.

Philip Jefferson will speak on ‘Navigating Economic Shocks’ in conversation at Stanford University at 7.00 pm ET.

Asian stocks fell broadly on Thursday. Chinese shares ended sharply lower. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 1.85 percent to 3,882.41 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 1.33 percent to 25,008.60.

Japanese markets tumbled. The Nikkei average plunged 2.79 percent to 66,835.54 while the broader Topix index settled 1.45 percent lower at 4,028.79.

The Kospi index slumped 6.37 percent to 6,820.60, with Samsung Electronics falling 8.8 percent and SK Hynix losing 11.5 percent.

Australian markets ended on a flat note.

Business News