U.S. stock futures struggled for direction on Thursday, which will mark the end of a largely positive month for equities.
Futures were little moved by data on personal spending and weekly jobless claims that continued to signal a strong U.S. economy as traders keep an eye out for fresh headlines over Italy and trade wars. The Trump White House could announce tariffs on the European Union as soon as Thursday, according to reports.
And oil, which helped drive a rally for stocks Wednesday, was pulling back ahead of U.S. supply data.
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What did the main benchmarks do?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YMM8, -0.31%
rose 19 points, or 0.1%, to 24,687, while S&P 500 index futures
ESM8, -0.20%
inched up 1.65 points, or 0.1%, to 2,726.25 Nasdaq-100 futures
NQM8, -0.13%
added 5.75 points, or 0.1%, to 6,994.
A rally for oil prices and an easing of worries about Italian politics drove a rally for stocks on Wednesday, with the Dow
DJIA, -0.47%
DJIA, -0.47%
climbing 306.33 points, or 1.3%, to close at 24,667.78, taking back most of Tuesday’s 392-point drop. The S&P 500
SPX, -0.23%
gained 1.3%, also recovering its losses from the prior session. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, +0.13%
was up 0.9%.
With one session left to close out May, the Dow is set to mark a 2% monthly rise, the S&P 500 is poised to gain 2.9% and the Nasdaq is set to book a 5.6% increase. An even bigger gain is in store for the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks
RUT, +1.50%
which is set to gain nearly 7%. The index finished at an all-time high on Wednesday, up 1.4%, to 1,646.36.
Read: Why bulls are betting on small-cap stocks to continue their winning ways
What’s driving markets?
The latest Italian headlines indicated that President Sergio Mattarella will give populist leaders more time to form a government, a move that could stave off fresh elections, the threat of which triggered an early-week selloff for global markets.
Trade headlines could also swing into focus, with the Trump administration is expected to announce tariffs on European Union steel and aluminum imports as soon as Thursday. The threats, against the EU, Canada and Mexico, announced earlier this year, were suspended to give those countries time to make concessions.
Read: Trump ready to pull tariff trigger on EU — what analysts say investors should expect
Should those EU tariffs go ahead, the region could announce its own retaliatory measures, with classic American industries such as whiskey and motorcycles potentially under threat.
Read: Trump wants to bar German cars from U.S.: report
Which stocks were in focus?
Shares of General Motors Co.
GM, +10.30%
were up more than 9% in premarket trade after the car maker said the SoftBank Vision Fund plans to invest $2.25 billion in its self-driving unit.
Retailers were active, with several reporting results. Dollar General Corp.
DG, -7.27%
shares slid 7.4% in premarket after the discount retailer posted disappointing revenue and same-store sales. Meanwhile, Dollar Tree Inc.
DLTR, -11.00%
shares slid more than 8% after results.
Sears Holdings Corp.
SHLD, -9.03%
fell over 7% in premarket after the struggling department store chain swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss and revenue fell sharply.
Read: Yes, Sears is likely to collapse, but its biggest stakeholder will be just fine
Express Inc.
EXPR, +1.75%
surged 7% in premarket after the clothing retailer’s earnings beat estimates.
Lululemon Athletica Inc.
LULU, -0.62%
Ulta Beauty Inc.
ULTA, -0.39%
and Costco Wholesale Corp.
COST, +0.12%
are due to report after market close.
In potential fallout from trade-war headlines and possible retaliation from the EU, shares of Harley-Davidson Inc.
HOG, -0.26%
fell 2.2% in premarket trading. And some U.S. auto makers could be in the spotlight as their European counterparts came under pressure over trade fears, with Daimler AG
DAI, -0.94%
off 0.8%. Ford Motor Co.
F, +0.95%
rose 0.4% in premarket.
Read: VW beats deadline for U.S. emissions remedy
Which economic reports are on tap?
The PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.2% in April, data showed Thursday, as did the core rate that strips out energy and food prices. Over the past 12 months, the rate was unchanged at 2%, while the core rate was at 1.8%.
Consumer spending jumped 0.6% after a revised 0.5% gain in March. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.4% rise.
First-time jobless claims fell 13,000 in the week ended May 26 to 221,000, compared with a forecast of 225,000.
The Chicago purchasing managers index for May is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by pending home sales for April at 10 a.m. Eastern.
See: MarketWatch’s economic calendar
Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar
What are other markets doing?
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 Index
SXXP, +0.06%
SXXP, +0.06%
was flat at 386.65, while Italy’s FTSE MIB stock benchmark
I945, +0.05%
was recently up 0.7%.
The euro
EURUSD, +0.0257%
EURUSD, +0.0257%
continued its ascent, rising 0.2% to $1.1679, helping to push the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY, +0.06%
0.4% lower at 93.813.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.61%
was up 1.5 basis points at 2.859%. Gold futures
GCM8, -0.08%
declined, while U.S. oil futures
CLN8, -1.47%
were down 1.1%.
The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that U.S. crude supplies rose by 1 million barrels for the week ended May 25, according to sources. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday morning.
Source : MTV
