A modest recovery seems to be on cards on Thursday, as stocks come off weak performances in each of the past six sessions. The jobless claims report to be released before the markets open could set the tempo for today's market movement. Traders may also closely watch the two central bank decisions from across the Atlantic.
As of 6:30 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 24 points, the S&P 500 futures are moving up 3.10 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 4.25 points.
Amid indecision and uncertainty following the release of the Beige Book, U.S. stocks moved in a lackadaisical fashion on Wednesday before closing moderately lower. The major averages all closed at their lowest level in over 2 months.
The focus of today's session is likely to be on the jobless claims report to be released at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have declined to 418,000 in the week ended June 4th from 422,000 in the previous week.
Around the same time, the Commerce Department is set to release its trade balance report for April. Economists expect the trade deficit to have widened to $49 billion from $48.2 billion in March, with higher oil prices and slacker export likely to weigh on the deficit.
The Commerce Department will release its wholesale inventories report at 10am ET. Economists expect wholesale inventories at the end of April to show a 0.9 percent increase.
Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak to the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Policy Forum on housing in Cleveland at 11:30 am ET.
In corporate news, 3M Co. (MMM) announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy Advanced Chemistry & Technology, a maker of sealants for aerospace applications.
Arch Coal (ACI) announced pricing of its $2 billion worth note offering and its common stock offering. The company said it raised gross proceeds of $1.3 billion its previously announced public offering of 48 million shares at $27 per share.
Pall Corp. (PLL) reported third quarter pro forma earnings and revenue above consensus estimates.
Texas Instruments (TXN) updated its second quarter earnings outlook. The company narrowed its earnings per share guidance to 51-55 cents from 52 -60 cents per share. The company now expects revenues of $3.36 billion to $3.50 billion compared to its earlier guidance range of $3.41 billion to $3.69 billion. Analysts estimate earnings of 55 cents per share on revenues of $3.55 billion.
Eli Lilly (ELY) could react to its announcement that a district court ruled in favor of the company in a lawsuit brought about by Amylin Pharma (AMLN), over their diabetes collaboration agreement. The court denied Amylin's request for imposition of restrictions on Lilly's sales force.
Thor (THO) third quarter earnings rose to 72 cents per share from 66 cents per share last year. Sales for the quarter were $852.059 million, up 25 percent year-over-year. The results were ahead of estimates.
C.R. Bard (BCR) is expected to gain ground after it announced a 6 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to 19 cents per share.
Men's Wearhouse (MW) reported second quarter results and guidance above consensus estimates.
National Semiconductor (NSM) and J.M. Smucker (SJM) are among the important companies due to report their results today.
The major Asian markets turned in another lackluster performance on Thursday amid limited visibility into the economic outlook. The Japanese, Australian, Indian, Malaysian and Singaporean markets advanced modestly, while the Chinese and New Zealand markets retreated sharply. The Hong Kong, Indonesian, South Korean and Taiwanese markets saw modest losses.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today announced that it is maintaining its interest rates unchanged at 2.50 percent for a second straight month. Nevertheless, the central bank signaled that it may gradually rates to counter an anticipated rise in core inflationary pressure.
A report released by the Cabinet Office showed that Japanese consumer sentiment improved in May. The consumer sentiment index rose to 34.2 from 33.1 in April, although the increase was slightly less than the expected reading of 34.5.
In a separate report, the Cabinet Office confirmed Japan' quarterly first quarter GDP growth at a negative 0.9 percent. The annualized growth was revised to a -3.5 percent from a -3.7 percent estimated initially.
The jobs report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the number of employed individuals rose by 7,800 in May to 11.44 million, while economists estimated job growth of 25,000. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 percent.
The European markets are mostly higher, although some nervousness is perceptible ahead of key interest rate decisions from the region. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are expected to hold interest rates unchanged, although European Central Bank's Jean Claude Trichet is widely expected to signal a rate hike at its July meeting.
Commodities are seen trading slightly higher amid the weakening of the dollar.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.