U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Downside As Treasury Yields Rebound
Following the rebound seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the downside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.
Traders remain focused on activity in the bond market, with a rebound by treasury yields weighing on the stock futures.
Treasury yields are showing a modest move back to the upside after pulling back off their highest levels in over sixteen years on Wednesday.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely monthly jobs report on Friday.
Economists expect employment to increase by 170,000 jobs in September after climbing by 187,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.7 percent from 3.8 percent.
The jobs data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as the Federal Reserve has warned about the impact of tight labor market conditions.
Ahead of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 30th.
The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 207,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 205,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000 from the 204,000 originally reported for the previous week.
After turning in a lackluster performance early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, bouncing off their lowest closing levels in four months.
The major averages all finished the day firmly positive, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way higher. The Nasdaq jumped 176.54 points or 1.4 percent to 13,236.01, the S&P 500 advanced 34.30 points or 0.8 percent to 4,263.75 and the Dow rose 127.17 points or 0.4 percent to 33,129.55.
In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ground on Thursday following recent weakness. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.8 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed by 0.5 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.58 to $83.64 a barrel after plummeting $5.01 to $84.22 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slipping $6.70 to $1,834.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $1.20 to $1,833.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.06 yen versus the 149.12 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0502 compared to yesterday’s $1.0504.
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