Wall Street's indefatigable momentum, which has helped the markets to stay afloat despite a lack of strong catalysts and in the wake of mixed data, may come in for teat once again on Thursday. The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a nearly flat open. The jobless claims data, the housing starts data, the results of a regional manufacturing survey and a few Fed speeches along with earnings from retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT) could dictate market movement in today's session.
As of 6:15 pm ET, the Dow futures are moving down 8 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are falling 2 points, while the S&P 500 Index futures are declining 2.10 points.
U.S. stocks advanced yet again on Wednesday despite the release of some mixed economic data on the manufacturing and housing sectors.
Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren is scheduled to speak on the impact of austerity on monetary policy in Milan at 7:45 am ET. At 9 am ET, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher will speak on monetary policy at a NABE energy conference in Houston, Texas.
The Labor Department is due to release its jobless claims report for the week ended May 11th at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have increased to 330,000 from 323,000 in the previous week. Around the same time, the Commerce Department is due to release its housing starts report for April. The consensus expectations call for housing starts to come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 969,000 in April, while building permits are estimated at 945,000.
The Labor Department is also scheduled to release its consumer price inflation report for April at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect monthly consumer price inflation of a negative 0.3 percent and a core inflation rate of 0.2 percent.
At 10 am ET, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release the results of its business outlook survey for May. The consensus expectations call for an increase in the business conditions index to 2.2 in May from 1.3 in April.
Federal Reserve Bank Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin is scheduled to speak on the prospects for recovery to the National Economists Club in Washington at 12:30 pm ET. Additionally, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak on the economy in Portland, Oregon at 1:30 pm ET.
In corporate news, Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported third quarter results that exceeded estimates. Dillard's (DDS) reported first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates, while its revenues trailed expectations.
Search companies may react to comScore's April U.S. search engine ranking report. Google's (GOOG) explicit core search share fell to 66.5 percent in April from 67.1 percent. Microsoft's (MSFT) share increased to 17.3 percent from 16.9 percent and Yahoo's (YHOO) share rose to 12 percent from 11.8 percent.
NetEase.com's (NTES) first quarter results exceeded estimates. Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) said it would increase its quarterly cash dividend by 28 percent to $1.60 per share.
Applied Materials (AMAT), Aruba Networks (ARUN), Autodesk (ADSK), Brocade (BRCD), Dell (DELL), J.C. Penney (JCP), Nordstrom (JWN), SINA (SINA) and ViaSat (VSAT) are among the major companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
The major Asian markets closed mixed yet again, with the Japanese, Australian, New Zealand, Malaysian and Indonesian retreating, while the rest of the major markets advanced.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at 15,037, down 58.79 points or 0.39 percent, slightly off its 5-1/2 year high, as the yen moved to the upside in reaction to the first quarter GDP data. Australia's All Ordinaries closed down 29.10 points or 0.56 percent at 5,144. Material and financial stocks came under intense selling pressure.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 23,083, up 38.44 points or 0.17 percent. Meanwhile, the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index closed 27.01 points or 1.21 percent higher at 2,252. The yen's strength supported the South Korean market, where the Kospi added 0.79 percent.
On the economic front, a report released by Japan's Cabinet Office showed that GDP rose 0.9 percent sequentially in the first quarter. Economists expected a more modest 0.7 percent increase. Annually, the GDP was up 3.5 percent, also ahead of the 2.7 percent growth expected by economists.
European stocks opened on a mixed note and are continuing to see mixed sentiment, although volatility is evident in the market. The French CAC 40 Index of France and the German DAX Index are receding, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is holding up.
In corporate news, luxury retailer Richemont reported higher profits and revenues for the year ended March. The company's chairman Johann Rupert will take a 1-year break. U.K. insurer Aviva said its new business value rose 18 percent in the first quarter.
On the economic front, final estimates released by Eurostat showed that the euro area's annual inflation was at 1.2 percent in April, in line with its preliminary estimate. A separate report showed that the eurozone's trade surplus more than doubled to 22.9 billion euros, as exports rose 2.8 percent month-over-month, while imports declined 1 percent.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com