Futures Pointing To Slightly Lower Open On Wall Street

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

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump called for the U.S. military budget to be increased to $1.5 trillion in 2027.

“This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

While Trump’s proposal is likely to contribute to significant strength among defense stocks, it may also lead to concerns about the impact on the national debt.

“Watch the bond market closely as Trump’s proposal to radically increase defense spending could put even more pressure on the already sky-high U.S. national debt,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“While Trump insists any extra spending would be paid for by tariffs, bond markets might not be as convinced,” he added. “Equity markets are already looking a bit doubtful, with futures prices implying a red day for Wall Street.”

However, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to increase by 60,000 jobs in December after climbing by 64,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent.

Ahead of the monthly jobs report, a report released by the Labor Department this morning showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up by slightly less than expected in the week ended January 3rd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 208,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 200,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 199,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Wednesday before eventually ending the relatively lackluster session mixed.

While the Dow and the S&P 500 gave back ground after a positive start to the first full trading week of the new year, the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a modest move to the upside.

The Nasdaq rose 37.10 points or 0.2 percent to 23,584.27, but the S&P 500 fell 23.89 points or 0.3 percent to 6,920.93 and the Dow slid 466.00 points or 0.9 percent to 48,996.08.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.

Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased by slightly less than expected in the month of December.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 41,000 jobs in December after falling by a revised 29,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 47,000 jobs compared to the loss of 32,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell by more than expected in the month of November.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in the month of December.

The ISM said its services PMI climbed to 54.4 in December from 52.6 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 52.3.

With the unexpected increase, the services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 56.0 in October 2024.

Housing stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 2.6 percent.

Interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks also came under pressure as the day progressed, resulting in a 2.3 percent slump by the Dow Jones Utility Average. The average ended the day at a six-month closing low.

Telecom, financial and oil service stocks also saw considerable weakness, while pharmaceutical, biotechnology and software stocks showed strong moves to the upside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are surging $1.07 to $57.06 a barrel after tumbling $1.14 to $55.99 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slumping $33.60 to $4,462.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $27.50 to $4,435 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.84 yen versus the 156.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1667 compared to yesterday’s $1.1673.

Asia

Asian shares ended mixed on Thursday amid escalating China-Japan tensions and ahead of key U.S. jobs data due this week that could influence the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory.

Oil ticked higher in Asian trading after the U.S. said it plans to control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely.” Gold extended overnight losses, pressured by a firm dollar.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 4,082.98 after a choppy session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1.2 percent to 26,149.31, dragged down by basic materials and technology stocks.

Japanese markets tumbled as trade friction with China weighed on chemical stocks and data showed real wages fell in November 2025 at the fastest pace since January 2025.

The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.6 percent to 51,117.26 while the broader Topix index closed 0.77 percent lower at 3,484.34.

Shin-Etsu Chemical shares plunged 4 percent as China launched an anti-dumping probe into Japanese chipmaking chemicals.

Technology stocks also lost ground, with semiconductor-linked names such as SoftBank, Advantest and Tokyo Electron falling 2-8 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up early gains to end on a flat note. Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 1.6 percent despite the country’s largest company projecting a three-fold jump in fourth-quarter operating profit from a year earlier to a record high on global demand for AI servers.

Australian markets rose modestly to extend gains from the previous session, led by financials and healthcare stocks. Miners snapped a three-day winning run as copper slipped from a record high, declining along with other industrial metals due to profit taking.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent to 8,720.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.3 percent higher at 9,046.50.

Shares of BlueScope Steel fell 1.6 percent after the company rejected a $9 billion takeover bid from Australian conglomerate SGH and U.S.-based Steel Dynamics.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 13,716.86.

Europe

European stocks were subdued on Thursday as investors monitor the latest U.S.-Venezuela developments and await upcoming U.S. labor market data for additional clues on the Federal Reserve’s trajectory.

The U.S. has seized two Russian-flagged oil tankers and announced plans to control future sales of Venezuelan oil indefinitely.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

Britain’s biggest food retailer Tesco has moved sharply lower despite forecasting full-year profit at the upper end of previous guidance.

AB Foods has also shown a substantial move to the downside after providing a weaker profit outlook.

Sodexo has also fallen. The French food caterer said that North American business declined 1.5 percent in organic sales during the first quarter.

Meanwhile, defense stocks have moved sharply higher after U.S. President Donald Trump called for higher U.S. defense spending.

Pharming Group shares have also surged. The Dutch biopharmaceutical company projected 2025 revenue ahead of guidance.

Retail giant Marks and Spencer has also jumped after reporting healthy food sales growth over the vital Christmas period.

German wind turbine maker Nordex has also spiked after securing new orders totaling 245.8 MW in Spain.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up by slightly less than expected in the week ended January 3rd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 208,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 200,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 199,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average slipped to 211,750, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average 219,000.

With the dip, the four-week moving average dropped to its lowest level since hitting 210,250 in the week ended April 27, 2024.

The Commerce Department also released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a significant decrease in the size of the U.S. trade deficit in the month of October.

The report said the trade deficit shrank to $29.4 billion in October from a downwardly revised $48.1 billion in September.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $58.9 billion from the $52.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpectedly narrower trade deficit came as the value of imports plunged by 3.2 percent, while the value of exports surged by 2.6 percent.

Labor productivity in the U.S. grew by much more than expected in the third quarter of 2025, according to a separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department said labor productivity soared by 4.9 percent in the third quarter after spiking by an upwardly revised 4.1 in the second quarter.

Economists had expected labor productivity to surge by 3.6 percent compared to the 3.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous quarter.

The report also said unit labor costs slumped by 1.9 percent in the third quarter after tumbling by a revised 2.9 percent in the second quarter.

Unit labor costs were expected to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.0 percent increase that had been reported for the previous quarter.

At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of October. Wholesale inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

The Treasury Department is due to announce the details of this month’s auctions of three-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds at 11 am ET.

At 3 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on consumer credit in the month of November. Consumer credit is expected to increase by $9.7 billion.