The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a narrowly mixed opening on Thursday, with the futures having surrendered some of their modest gains following the release of the jobless claims report, which showed an unexpected increase in claims. The data is likely to stir concerns about tomorrow's non-farm payrolls report and generate some selling pressure.
The realization that the job market situation in the U.S. isn't as bad as feared gave traders some confidence and they subsequently bid up stocks in Wednesday's session. The major averages opened higher and spiked sharply in early trading only to pullback with the same momentum immediately thereafter. After some moments of weakness, the major advanced amid some volatility to end the session moderately higher.
The Dow Industrials added 44.05 points or 0.41% to end at 10,680 and the S&P 500 Index closed 6.78 points or 0.61% higher at 1,127, while the Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 20.05 points or 0.88% at 2,304.
Twenty-one of the thirty Dow components ended the session higher, with DuPont (DD), Disney (DIS), Kraft Foods (KFT) and Pfizer (PFE) advancing strongly in the session. On the other hand, Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Bank of America (BAC) and American Express (AXP) declined over 1% each.
Among the sector indexes, the S&P Retail Index rose 2.16%, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index rallied 2.61%, the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index rose 2.54% and the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index moved up 1.90%. In the technology space, the NYSE Arca Internet Index jumped 3.40%. On the other hand, the NYSE Arca Airline Index receded 1.01%.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index rose to 54.3 in July from 53.8 in June. Economists had expected a slight dip to 53. While the new orders index rose 2.3 points to 56.7, the business activity index edged down 0.7 points to 57.4 and the backlog of orders index declined by 3.5 points to 52. The employment index rose back up above the 50 level to '50.9.' Out of the 18 industries surveyed, 13 reported growth and 4 reported contraction.
ADP's employment survey showed that private sector payrolls rose by a better than expected 42,000 in July following the addition of 19,000 jobs in June. Job additions in the services sector accelerated to 63,000 in July from 41,000 in June, while the manufacturing sector shed 6,000 jobs.
Currency, Commodity Markets
Crude oil futures are falling $0.53 to $81.94 a barrel after edging down $0.08 to $82.47 a barrel on Wednesday. The modest retreat in the previous session came amid the release of the EIA's inventory report, which showed that crude oil inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels to 358 million barrels in the week ended July 30th. Inventories of crude oil remained above the upper limit of the average range.
At the same time, gasoline inventories edged up by 0.7 million barrels and were above the upper limit of the average range. Distillate stockpiles rose by 2.2 million barrels, remaining above the upper boundary of the average range. Refinery capacity utilization averaged 91.2% over the four-weeks ended July 30th compared to 90.6% in the previous week.
Gold futures are edging up $2.60 to $1,198.50 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal rose $8.40 to $1,195.90 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 86.18 yen compared to the 86.2705 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3184 compared to yesterday's $1.3162.
Asia
The major Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, with only select markets like China, South Korea and Taiwan retreating in the session. A rebound in the value of the dollar generated some buying interest in the export space.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average opened higher and moved mostly sideways to close up 164.58 points or 1.73% at 9,654. Barring some financial and technology stocks, most other stocks advanced.
Australia's All Ordinaries opened higher and spiked sharply in early trading. After a slight pullback, the index consolidated its gains to close up 25.20 points or 0.55% at 4,585. The market witnessed broad based strength, with energy and material stocks showing particular strength. Only a few telecom and real estate stocks retreated.
After trading below the unchanged line for the better part of the session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed barely above the unchanged line. The index was up merely 1.84 points or 0.01% at 21,552 at the close of trading. Index heavyweights HSBC Holdings and China Mobile ended modestly higher and some China-based financial stocks also saw some strength, while property and utility stocks ended lower across the board.
Europe
The major European markets are trading on a mixed note on Thursday after yesterday's mixed performance. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are rising 0.47% and 0.23%, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is receding 0.07%.
In corporate news, U.K. banking giant Barclays (BCS) reported that its first-half pre-tax profits rose to 3.4 billion pounds, helped by lower impairment charges and gains on its own debt. U.K. insurer Aviva said its first-half operating profit came in at 1.27 billion pounds compared to 1.05 billion pounds last year.
Unilever (UL) reported a second quarter profit of 1.06 billion euros compared to 758 million euros last year, as sales rose 12.4% to 11.75 billion euros. Mining giant Rio Tinto (RTP) said its underlying earnings for the first-half period rose about 125% to $5.77 billion.
Two central bank decisions from the region came along the expected lines. At the end of two-day rate setting meeting, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decided to retain the interest rate at 0.5%. The current rate is the lowest since the central bank was established in 1694. The decision was in line with economists' expectations. Policy makers also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at GBP 200 billion. The minutes of the meeting will be released on August 18.
The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1% for the fifteenth straight month. The decision was in line with economists' expectations. The last change in the key interest rate was in May 2009, when the bank cut the rate by 25 basis points to the current level of 1%. The bank has lowered the key interest rate by a total of three and a quarter percentage points since early October 2008.
U.S. Economic News
The Labor Department said that first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed a moderate increase in the week ended July 31st.
Initial jobless claims rose to 479,000 from the previous week's revised figured of 460,000. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 455,000 from the 457,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Stocks in Focus
Earnings
Avis Budget (CAR) reported second quarter earnings of 25 cents per share compared to a loss of 2 cents per share last year. The company's revenues fell 1% to $1.3 billion. Analysts estimated a profit of 18 cents per share on revenues of $1.33 billion.
SINA Corp. (SINA) said its second quarter non-GAAP earnings rose 62% to $27.7 million or 42 cents per share, as revenues rose 10% to $99.4 million. The consensus estimates called for earnings of 35 cents per share on revenues of $92.57 million. For the third quarter, the company estimates net revenues of $101 million to $104 million, while analysts estimate revenues of $100.80 million.
News Corp. (NWS) reversed to a fourth quarter profit of 33 cents per share from a loss of 8 cents per share last year. Revenues climbed to $8.11 billion from the year-ago's $7.67 billion.
Murphy Oil (MUR) reported second quarter net income of $1.41 per share, higher than 83 cents per share last year. The year-ago results included items that had a net negative impact of about 7 cents per share. Revenues climbed to $5.59 billion from $4.56 billion last year. The consensus estimates called for earnings of $1.21 per share on revenues of $6.36 billion. The company also announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend.
Prudential Financial (PRU) reported second quarter after-tax adjusted operating income of $1.51 per share, lower than $1.87 per share last year. Analysts estimated earnings of $1.32 per share.
Meanwhile, Hartford Financial (HIG) reversed to a second quarter profit of 17 cents per share on a core basis from a loss of $1.90 per share last year. The company's adjusted core earnings were 92 cents per share, ahead of the consensus estimate of 71 cents per share. The company lowered its full year core earnings guidance to $2.10-$2.30 per share from $2.70-$3 per share, while analysts estimate earnings of $2.71 per share.
Allstate (ALL) said its second quarter operating income rose to 81 cents per share from 55 cents per share last year. However, revenues fell 9.8% to $7.66 billion. The results were ahead of expectations.
Con-way (CNW) reported that its second quarter net income declined to 26 cents per share from 64 cents per share last year despite revenues rising 23.7% to $1.31 billion. While earnings trailed the consensus estimate of 30 cents per share, revenues were ahead of $1.26 billion consensus estimate.
Other Corporate News
Among retailers, Fred's (FRED) reported a 2.7% increase in its same store sales for July, rebounding the 4.6% drop in the previous month. Teen apparel retailer Hot Topic (HOTT) said its same store sales dipped 9% in July. The company also lowered its second quarter loss estimate to 14 cents per share, while analysts estimate a loss of 10 cents per share.
AMR Corp. (AMR) could see some activity after its American Airlines unit said its load factor fell 0.3 points in July to 87%. The decline came despite a 2.7% increase in traffic and a 3.1% improvement in capacity. AMR's regional carrier American Eagle reported a 1.7 point decline in load factor to 76.1%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.