– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with sentiment suggesting a modest rebound following six straight sessions of gains. In key development, the U.S. jobless claims report showed an unexpected modest increase in claims, while the trade balance report showed an unexpected narrowing of the deficit. Central banks from New Zealand to the U.K. to the Eurozone announced pause decisions, reflecting concerns among policymakers over the moderation of global growth.
Commodities are seeing a mixed trend, while the dollar is firmer against the euro, the yen and the pound. Even if the oversold levels support some bargain hunting, there haven’t been any strong catalysts that could give the market a real lift.
Amid indecision and uncertainty, U.S. stocks moved in a lackadaisical fashion on Wednesday before closing moderately lower. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index moved back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the session, with the former closing down 21.87 points or 0.18 percent at 12,049, while the latter declined 5.3 points or 0.42 percent before ending at 1,280.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index remained below the unchanged throughout the session, closing down 26.18 points or 0.97 percent at 2,675.
Eighteen of the thirty Dow components closed lower, with Alcoa (AA), American Express (AXP), Caterpillar (CAT), Intel (INTC), DuPont (DD), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and American Express (AXP) among the worst decliners. On the other hand, Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Verizon (VZ) advanced strongly.
Among the sector indexes, the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index fell 1 percent, the Dow Jones Transportation Average declined 1.14 percent, the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Average slipped 1.13 percent, the NYSE Arca Airline Index receded 1.65 percent and the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index slipped 2.23 percent.
The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index moved down 1.46 percent, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index receded 2.08 percent, the NYSE Arca Networking Index fell 3.18 percent, the NYSE Arca Software Index slipped 1.26 percent and the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index declined 1.60 percent.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book revealed that economic activity generally continued to expand since the last report, although a few districts indicated some deceleration. The report also noted that a number of districts showed a slowing in the pace of manufacturing growth.
Service sector activity, excluding the non-financial sector, expanded at a steady pace. The report noted a mixed trend in consumer spending, with the weakness blamed on elevated food and energy prices as well as unfavorable weather in some parts of the country. Auto sales were reported to be mixed, while residential and real estate activity continued to show widespread weakness.
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