WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Thursday, extending the sell-off seen over the course of the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 194 points.
Lingering concerns about the global economic outlook may weigh on the markets as Europe grapples with a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Recent data has suggested the economic recovery in the U.S. may be plateauing, leading to calls by officials such as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for more fiscal stimulus.
However, with the elections looming, lawmakers are expected to continue to have difficulty reaching an agreement on a new coronavirus relief bill.
Worries about the aftermath of the presidential elections may also generate some selling pressure after President Donald Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he losses to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
'Well, we'll have to see what happens. You know that,' Trump said at a news conference on Wednesday. 'I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots. And the ballots are a disaster.'
Trump has repeatedly argued that a jump in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic will lead to massive voter fraud.
The futures saw further downside following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 19th.
The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 870,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 866,000.
The modest increase surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to drop to 843,000 from the 860,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of August. New home sales are expected to decrease by 1.0 percent in August after spiking by 13.9 percent in July.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, more than offsetting the strength seen on Tuesday. With the drop on the day, the major averages ended the session at their lowest closing levels in well over a month.
The major averages saw further downside going into the close, finishing the day just off their worst levels. The Dow tumbled 525.05 points or 1.9 percent to 26,763.13, the Nasdaq plummeted 330.65 points or 3 percent to 10,632.99 and the S&P 500 plunged 78.65 points or 2.4 percent to 3,236.92.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has slid by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.34 to $39.59 a barrel after inching up $0.13 to $39.93 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after plunging $39.20 to $1,868.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $11.80 to $1,856.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is unchanged versus the 105.39 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1635 compared to yesterday's $1.1660.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX