BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Jobless Claims for the week, International Trade report for February as well as Factory Orders for February are the major economic announcement on Thursday. White House has projected nearly a quarter-million deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. Countries across the globe are under the fear of the pandemic and the economic recession.
Initial cues from the U.S Futures Index are pointing to a positive open for Wall Street.
As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were up 415.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were progressing 48.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were adding 126.75 points.
The U.S. major averages closed with steep losses. The Dow plummeted 973.65 points or 4.4 percent to 20,943.51, the Nasdaq tumbled 339.52 points or 4.4 percent to 7,360.58 and the S&P 500 plunged 114.06 points or 4.4 percent to 2,470.50.
On the economic front, the International Trade report for February will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of $39.5 billion, while it was down $45.3 billion in the prior month.
Jobless Claims for the week will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a growth of 3,350K, slightly higher than 3,283K in the prior week.
U.S. Commerce Department's Factory Orders for February is expected at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, while it decreased 0.5 percent in the previous year.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the previous week, the change was down 29 bcf.
Three-year and 10-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 11.00 am ET. The 30 year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be published at 4.30 am ET. In the prior week, the level was at $5.254 Trillion.
Fed's Money Supply for the week will be released at 4.30 PM. The M2 weekly change was up $170.1 billion.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index climbed 46.12 points, or 1.69 percent, to 2,780.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.84 percent to 23,280.06.
Japanese stocks extended losses for the fourth day. The Nikkei average fell 246.69 points, or 1.37 percent, to 17,818.72, while the broader Topix index ended 1.57 percent lower at 1,329.87.
Australian markets fell heavily. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 104.30 points, or 1.98 percent, to 5,154.30, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 102 points, or 1.93 percent, at 5,188.70.
European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is adding 34.30 points or 0.82 percent. The German DAX is progressing 31.72 points or 0.33 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 36.82 points or 0.66 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is gaining 47.42 points or 0.48 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is gaining 0.31 percent.
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