BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Jobless Claims for the week, Retail Sales Report as well as Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index are the highlights on Thursday. The market is low ahead of the long weekend.
Initial trading on U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might be opening lower.
Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading broadly positive.
On the earnings front, major corporates such as American Express, Honeywell , and Travelers will be reporting their earnings today.
As of 7.44 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 31 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 1.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.25 points.
The U.S. major averages ended Wednesday's session slightly lower. The Dow edged down 3.12 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 26,449.54, the Nasdaq slipped 4.15 points or 0.1 percent to 7,996.08 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.61 points or 0.2 percent to 2,900.45.
On the economic front, the Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The economists are looking for consensus of 206K while it was 196K in the previous week.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey report for April will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 10.2, down from 13.7 in the previous month.
The Commerce Department's Retail Sales report for March will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.8 percent, while it declined 0.2 percent in the prior month.
The Markit Economics' flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for April will be released at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 54.3, in line with the prior month.
The Conference Board's Leading Indicators for March will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a growth of 0.3 percent, while it gained 0.2 percent in the previous month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the change was decline of 78 bcf.
EIA's Petroleum Status Report for the week will be revealed at 11.00 am ET. In the previous week, the crude oil inventories were up 3.6 million barrels and Gasoline were up 0.4 million barrels.
Five year Treasury Note auction will be held at 11.30 am ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $3.937 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was a deficit of $36.5 billion.
Asian stocks ended lower on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Good Friday and Easter holidays. Chinese shares fell from a 13-month high. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gave up 12.92 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 3,250.20, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended down 161.42 points or 0.5 percent at 29,963.26.
Japanese shares fell from a 4-1/2-month high. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 187.85 points or 0.8 percent to 22,090.12, while the broader Topix tumbled 1 percent to 1,614.97.
Australian markets ended little changed. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index ended marginally higher at 6,259.80 after the release of upbeat jobs data for March. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended slightly lower at 6,349.90.
European shares are trading broadly higher. CAC 40 of France is up 15.27 points or 0.27 percent. DAX of Germany is progressing 47.97 points or 0.40 percent. FTSE 100 of England is losing 10.18 points or 0.14 percent. Swiss Market Index is declining 1.96 points or 0.02 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.53 percent.
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