WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Higher futures point to a slightly positive start for stocks on Wall Street Thursday morning.
However, with markets in Europe remaining shut for Boxing Day holiday and not many positive catalysts to trigger any significant buying, activity is likely to remain subdued.
Positive signals on the U.S.-China trade front will help keep the undertone a bit firm, although worries about global economic slowdown will be a dampener.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the the US and China would hold a formal ceremony to ink a so-called phase-one deal between the two sides.
On the economic front, data on unemployment claims for the week ended December 21 will be out at 8:30 AM ET.
Initial jobless claims pulled back in the week ended December 14th, with claims falling to 234,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the unrevised level of 252,000 in the week ended December 7th, which was the highest level since September 2017.
In commodities, West Texas Crude oil futures are extending recent gains, rising $0.18, or 0.28 percent, at 61.29 a barrel.
On Tuesday, stocks ended roughly flat after a lackluster session. The major averages ended the abbreviated trading session little changed.
The Dow dipped 36.08 points or 0.1 percent to 28,515.45 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.63 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,223.38, while the Nasdaq inched up 7.24 points or 0.1 percent to 8,952.88.
Among the markets across the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and Shanghai ended notably higher on Thursday. South Korea closed with modest gains, while the Indian market settled weak for a third straight session. Taiwan closed flat, while Singapore and Malaysia edged modestly lower.
Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand remained shut.
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