BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Jobless Claims, Retail sales as well as Import and Export prices are the major highlights on Thursday. Investors are likely to keep an eye on geopolitical developments.
Early cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.
Asian shares finished broadly higher, while European shares are trading lower.
As of 8.20 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 79 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 10.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 32.50 points.
The U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday. The Dow climbed 90.55 points or 0.3 percent to 29,030.22 and the S&P 500 rose 6.14 points or 0.2 percent to 3,289.29, but the Nasdaq pulled back near the unchanged line before closing down 0.41 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 9,250.92.
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 215K while it was 214K in the previous week.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey report for January will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 3.0, versus 0.3 in the previous month.
The Commerce Department's Retail Sales for December will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.4 percent, while it was up 0.2 percent in the prior month.
Housing Market Index for January will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 75, down from 76 in the prior 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 44 bcf.
The 10-year Treasury inflation-indexed securities or TIPS auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.
Treasury International Capital for November will be revealed at 4.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the Capital was up $32.5 billion.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $4.150 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was a deficit of $3.5 billion.
Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday. Chinese stocks slipped. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 15.96 points, or 0.52 percent, to 3,074.08 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up 0.38 percent to 28,883.04.
Japanese shares ended marginally higher. The Nikkei average edged up 16.55 points to close at 23,933.13, while the broader Topix index closed 0.14 percent lower at 1,728.72.
Australian markets hit fresh record highs. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 47 points, or 0.67 percent, to 7,041.80, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 45.10 points, or 0.63 percent, to 7,158.60.
European shares are trading lower. CAC 40 of France is down 9.93 points or 0.16 percent. DAX of Germany is losing 28.91 points or 0.21 percent. FTSE 100 of England is losing 34.56 points or 0.46 percent. Swiss Market Index is declining 13.05 points or 0.12 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.15 percent.
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