Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Suggest that Wall Street might open in positive territory on Thursday. The Middle East conflict still overshadows investor sentiments.
In the Asian trading session, oil prices were up, gold jumped more than 1 percent to trade above $4,600 an ounce.
The dollar rose and Brent crude prices for June delivery surged to $122 a barrel.
As of 7.50 am ET, the Dow futures were up 283.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 25.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 113.25 points.
The U.S. major averages finished lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up marginally, the S&P 500 ended flat with a negative bias. The narrower Dow dropped 0.6 percent to extend losses for a fifth consecutive session.
On the economic front, the Gross Domestic Product or GDP for the first quarter will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 2.1 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in the prior quarter.
The Jobless Claims for the week will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 212K, while the initial claims were up 214K in the prior week.
The Personal Income and Outlays for March will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was down 0.1 percent in February.
The Employment Cost Index for the first quarter is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.8 percent, while it was up 0.7 percent in the prior quarter.
The Chicago PMI for April is expected at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is 55.3, while it was up 52.8 in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be issued at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 10.3 bcf.
The Farm Prices for March will be revealed at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the prices were up 12 percent.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was up $6.707 trillion.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index edged up by 0.11 percent to 4,112.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.28 percent to 25,776.53.
Japanese markets fell. The Nikkei average tumbled 1.06 percent to 59,284.92. The broader Topix index settled 1.19 percent lower at 3,727.21.
Australian markets ended slightly lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.24 percent to 8,665.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.32 percent at 8,887.60.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.