U.S. stock futures are trading mixed on Thursday following a decline on Wednesday, with no significant movements across major benchmark indices.
The futures markets remain calm ahead of the weekly jobless claims data that are set to be released on Thursday, offering an essential economic data point to influence monetary decisions by the Federal Reserve.
This comes as several regional Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak on Thursday, offering their outlook on the economy and monetary policies.
See Also: The Fed May Cut Less Than You Think, And That Could Hit Stocks Hard: Oxford Economics
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.139% and the two-year bond was at 3.604%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 91.9% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates in its October meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | +0.11% |
| S&P 500 | -0.06% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.13% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.06% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100, respectively, are flat in pre-market trade, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Most S&P 500 sectors were in the red on Wednesday, with materials, real estate, and communications leading the way, while energy, utilities and consumer discretionary inched up.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 77 points during the session, followed by the S&P 500, down 19 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 171.50.
Among specific movers, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) rallied 6.41% on Wednesday, following reports that the company was seeking an investment from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) as part of its turnaround attempts.
The New Home Sales data on Wednesday came in significantly ahead of estimates at 800,000, ahead of the median forecast at 649,000, and the prior quarter figures at 664,000.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.33% | 22,497.86 |
| S&P 500 | -0.28% | 6,637.97 |
| Dow Jones | -0.37% | 46,121.28 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.92% | 2,434.98 |
Insights From Analysts
Analyst Mike Zaccardi highlighted results from the American Association of Individual Investors, which he notes maintains a bullish percentage similar to the previous week. Of the individual investors polled, 41.7% poll bullish, with 19.1% neutral and 39.2% bearish.
Similarly, 27% of the AAII say there is a “higher than normal” chance of a recession before the end of this fiscal year, while most continue to believe that the probabilities are “unlikely.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday;
- At 8:20 a.m. ET, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks.
- At 8:30 a.m. ET, a wave of reports hit: initial jobless claims for the week of Sept. 20, the final Q2 GDP estimate, August's advanced trade balance in goods, retail inventories, wholesale inventories, and durable-goods orders (including the ex-transportation measure).
- At 9:00 a.m. ET, New York Fed President John Williams delivers opening remarks, while Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid also speaks.
- At 10:00 a.m. ET, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman speaks, alongside the August existing home sales data.
- At 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Governor Michael Barr delivers remarks.
- At 1:40 p.m. ET, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan speaks.
- At 3:30 p.m. ET, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly rounds out the Fed speakers with a scheduled appearance.
Stocks In Focus
- Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is up 0.43% pre-market ahead of its fourth quarter earnings report, scheduled to be released after markets close on Thursday.
- Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) is set to release its third-quarter results before markets open, and the stock remains flat in pre-market trade.
- Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL), the American manufacturing company, is up 2.31% pre-market, ahead of its fourth quarter results scheduled for Thursday morning.
- TD Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) is soaring in pre-market trade, up 2.43%, ahead of its fourth quarter results at 9 AM on Thursday.
- Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is set to release its second-quarter figures before markets open on Thursday, with the stock up 2% pre-market.
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.46%, hovering around $64.69 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.59% to hover around $3,756.88 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,788.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot is down 0.08% at 97.7833 at the time of writing.
Asian markets were deep in the red on Thursday, barring Japan’s Nikkei 225, and China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen. European markets were all lower in early trade.
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