The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly higher open on Thursday, as traders react to a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in initial jobless claims. Nonetheless, trading activity is likely to remain subdued ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Friday.
After moving modestly lower at the open, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the session modestly higher.
The choppy trading came despite the release of some upbeat economic data, with a report from the Institute for Supply Management - Chicago showing an unexpected improvement in manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area amid a turnaround in employment.
The major averages moved to the upside going into the close, ending the session slightly higher. The Dow Industrials gained 3.10 points or less than a tenth of a percent to close at 10,548.51, the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 2.88 points or 0.1 percent to 2,291.28 and the S&P 500 inched up by 0.22 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,126.42.
Alcoa (AA) turned in one of the Dow's best performances, posting a gain of 1.7 percent on the session. Intel (INTC) also saw some buying interest, rising by 0.9 percent to a two-month closing high.
Travelers (TRV), Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Chevron (CVX) also rose, although by more modest margins, while Microsoft (MSFT) was the steepest percentage decliner in the Dow. McDonald's (MCD), General Electric (GE) and Home Depot (HD) also saw selling pressure
As mentioned above, the Institute for Supply Management - Chicago said its index of manufacturing activity rose to 60.0 in December from 56.1 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting the index to edge down to a reading of 55.1.
A turnaround in employment contributed to the improvement in the sector, with the employment index jumping to 51.2 in December from 41.9 in November.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures have moved higher, edging up by $0.16 to $79.44 a barrel after drifting up by $0.41 to $79.28 a barrel on Wednesday. Gold futures, which declined by $5.60 in the previous session to $1,092.50 an ounce, are currently up by $13.70 at $1,106.20 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is lower against the major European currencies, falling to $1.4378 against the euro and dropping to $1.6206 versus the pound. Meanwhile, the buck has risen against the Japanese yen and is currently trading at 92.77 yen.
Asia
Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday's trading mostly higher, although the markets in Japan and South Korea were closed on the day and the markets in Australia and Hong Kong closed early ahead of the upcoming New Year's Day holiday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended the abbreviated trading session up 375.88 points or 1.75% at 21,872, as traders picked up stocks across the market on increasing optimism about a global economy recovery.
Mutual funds increased their holdings on year-end eve to boost their net asset value. As many as 38 stocks in the 42-component stock index ended in positive territory. Property stocks led the gains followed by banks and China-related shares.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX Index advanced 37.30 points or 0.80% to close at 4,870, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,883, representing a gain of 35.70 points, or 0.74%. Volume was relatively light, as most traders preferred to stay away from their desks.
Banking stocks ended in positive territory with minor gains, while mixed trading was witnessed among the mining and metal stocks Oil and retail stocks also saw some strength on the day.
The Indian market hit a 20-month high in mid-session before paring some of its gains ahead of the long weekend. The benchmark Sensex closed at 17,465, up 121 points or 0.70% from the previous close. The S&P CNX Nifty rose by 32 points or 0.61% to 5,201.
Among other major markets open for trading in the region, China's Shanghai Composite Index added 14.54 points, or 0.45%, to close at 3,277 and Taiwan's Weighted Index advanced 75.83 points or 0.93% at 8,188.
Europe
The European markets saw modest strength on Thursday, although several markets in the region were closed on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed up 0.3 percent in a holiday-shortened session, while the French CAC 40 Index closed just above the unchanged line.
U.S. Economic Reports
The Labor Department released its report on first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended December 26th, showing that initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell for the week, once again falling to their lowest level in well over a year.
The report showed that jobless claims fell to 432,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 454,000. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge up to 460,000 from the 452,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims extended the downward trend seen over the past few months, falling to their lowest level since coming at 413,000 in the week ended July 19th, 2008.
The less volatile four-week moving average also continued to decline for the seventeenth consecutive week, falling to 460,250 from the previous week's revised average of 465,750.
Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment help, also continued to decline, falling to 4.981 million in the week ended December 19th from the preceding week's revised level of 5.038 million.
Stocks in Focus
While trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued, shares of Quixote (QUIX) are likely to see early strength after the company agreed to be acquired by Trinity Industries (TRN) for $6.38 per share or approximately $61 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.
Biodel (BIOD) is also moving notably higher in premarket trading after the company said it has submitted a new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for clearance to market VIAject as a treatment for diabetes.
Meanwhile, Pfizer (PFE) said that the FDA has not yet completed its review of the company's Biologics License Application for Prevnar 13, Pfizer's candidate 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Subsequently, Pfizer said the review will continue beyond the prescription drug user fee action date of December 30, 2009.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.