Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open in positive territory on Thursday, despite the U.S. plan to put economic restrictions on Iran’s oil output.
Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading broadly higher.
As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 76.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 6.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were adding 45.75 points.
The U.S. major averages finished higher on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 376.93 points or 1.6 percent to 24,016.02 and the S&P 500 advanced 55.57 points or 0.8 percent to 7,022.95.
On the economic front, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for April will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 12.0, while it was up 18.1 in the prior week.
The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 215K, while it was up 219K in the prior week.
The Industrial Production for March will be published at 9.15 am ET. The consensus is 0.1 percent, while it was up 0.2 percent in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, te gas stock was up 50 bcf.
Five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities or TIPS auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.
The Fed’s Balance sheet will be revealed at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was at $6.694 trillion.
Asian stocks finished mostly up on Thursday.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished at 4,055.55, up 28.34 points or 0.70 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 446.94 points or 1.72 percent to close at 26,394.26.
Japanese markets closed higher. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 2.38 percent to 59,518.34.
Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index finished marginally lower at 8,955.00.
European shares are trading broadly up. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is gaining 38.36 points or 0.46 percent. The German DAX is up 134.90 points or 0.56 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is progressing 64.37 points or 0.61 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is down 27.47 points or 0.21 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 23.18 or 0.39 percent at 5963.51.
Business News
Wall Street Eyes Positive Open
2026-04-16 12:12:04
