BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The weekly jobless claims, Fed Business Outlook Survey report, Leading Indicators are the major economic announcements on Thursday.
The market sentiments continue to be highly influenced by Covid 19 outbreak and its aftermath. Investors analyse that the new spread of infections to other countries and the death toll in China is really alarming.
Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading lower.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures point to a lower open for Wall Street.
As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 42 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 5.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 18.25 points.
The U.S. major averages remained firmly positive at closing on Wednesday. The Dow rose 115.84 points or 0.4 percent to 29,348.03, the Nasdaq advanced 84.44 points or 0.9 percent to 9,817.18 and the S&P 500 climbed 15.86 points or 0.5 percent to 3,386.15.
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 211K while it was 205K in the previous week.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey report for February will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 12.0, up from 17.0 in the previous month.
The Conference Board's Leading Indicators for January will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a growth of 0.3 percent, while it slipped 0.3 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 115 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 7.5 million barrels and Gasoline were down 0.1 million barrels.
Two year FRN, two -year and five year Treasury Note auction will be held at 11.00 am ET. The 30-year Treasury inflation-indexed securities or TIPS auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $4.028 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was a deficit of $4.9 billion.
In the corporate sector, Boeing secured a five-year U.S. Air Force contract to sustain and modernize the Global Decision Support System, or GDSS. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
American Electric Power reported fourth-quarter operating earnings of $294 million or $0.60 per share, compared to $354 million or $0.72 per share, a year ago. Fourth-quarter earnings was $154 million or $0.31 per share, compared to $363 million or $0.74 per share, prior year.
Fourth-quarter revenue declined 0.2 percent year-on-year to $3.6 billion from $3.8 billion.
For 2020, the company reaffirmed its operating earnings guidance range of $4.25 to $4.45 per share. American Electric Power also reaffirmed its long-term operating earnings growth rate of 5% to 7%.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday. Chinese stocks ended on a firm note. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 54.75 points, or 1.84 percent, to 3,030.15, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged down 0.17 percent to 27,609.16.
Japanese stocks closed higher. The Nikkei average edged up 78.45 points, or 0.34 percent, to 23,479.15, while the broader Topix index ended 0.16 percent higher at 1,674.48.
Australian markets scaled a record high before ending off the day's highs. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 17.90 points, or 0.25 percent, to 7,162.50, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 17.80 points, or 0.25 percent, at 7,255.20.
On the economic front, the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent in January. That exceeded expectations for 5.2 percent and was up from 5.1 percent in December.
European shares are trading lower. CAC 40 of France is down 13.51 points or 0.22 percent. DAX of Germany is declining 27.64 points or 0.19 percent. FTSE 100 of England is losing 0.25 points or 0.00 percent. Swiss Market Index is sliding 37.00 points or 0.33 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.35 percent.
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