WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks may continue to experience choppy trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by just 8 points.
Traders may remain reluctant to make any significant moves as they seek to determine the next major catalyst to drive the markets.
News the House officially voted to impeach President Donald Trump may contribute to some caution on Wall Street, although the pro-business president is very unlikely to be removed from office.
The vote by House Democrats was historic but also widely expected, and Trump is widely expected to be acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Disappointing news on the U.S. economic front may generate some negative sentiment, but traders may focus on the fact that the data was from before the U.S. and China agreed on a phase one trade deal.
The Labor Department recently released a report showing initial jobless claims pulled back by much less than expected in the week ended December 14th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 234,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 252,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 225,000.
The smaller than expected pullback came after jobless claims reached their highest level since September of 2017 in the previous week.
A separate report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity was nearly flat in the month of December.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity tumbled to 0.3 in December from 10.4 in November, with zero serving as the demarcation point between contraction and expansion. Economists had expected the index to dip to 8.0.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, the Philly Fed Index slumped to its lowest reading in six months.
Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of November.
Existing home sales are expected to dip to an annual rate of 5.44 million in November after jumping to a rate of 5.46 million in October.
The Conference Board is also due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of November. The leading economic index is expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
After ending Tuesday's session modestly higher, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. Despite the choppy trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up to a new record closing high.
The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq crept up 4.38 points or 0.1 percent to 8,827.73, the Dow dipped 27.88 points or 0.1 percent to 28,239.28 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.38 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,191.14.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
