U.S. Stocks May See Initial Strength Following Jobless Claims Data

Following the downturn seen over the course of the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 up by 0.7 percent.

The advance by the futures came after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended August 3rd.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 233,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of to 250,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 240,000 from the 249,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The bigger than expected decline came a week after jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 258,000 in the week ended August 5, 2023.

The data may help ease concerns about the strength of the labor market, which have contributed to recent selling on Wall Street.

Among individual stocks, shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the drug maker reported better than expected second quarter results and raised its full-year revenue guidance.

Athletic apparel company Under Armour (UAA) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting an unexpected fiscal third quarter profit.

On the other hand, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is seeing significant pre-market weakness after reporting disappointing second quarter results and announcing a $9.1 billion write down tied to its TV networks.

After extending yesterday’s rebound early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.

The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq slumped 171.05 points or 1.1 percent to 16,195.81, the S&P 500 slid 40.53 points or 0.8 percent to 5,199.50 and the Dow fell 234.21 points or 0.6 percent to 38,763.45.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi dipped by 0.5 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.10 to $75.33 a barrel after surging $2.03 to $75.23 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.80 to $2,432.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $17.70 to $2,450.10 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.09 yen versus the 146.68 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0901 compared to yesterday’s $1.0922.