Futures Point To Positive Open For Wall Street

The Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending might have an influence on inflation and that might be the highlight on Thursday.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.
Asian shares finished mostly down, while European shares are trading higher.

As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were progressing 157.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 10.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 18.25 points.

The Nasdaq climbed 75.55 points or 0.5 percent to 14,019.31, the S&P 500 rose 17.24 points or 0.4 percent to 4,514.87 and the Dow inched up 37.57 points or 0.1 percent to 34,890.24.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a notable slowdown in the pace of private sector job growth in the month of August.

On the economic front, The Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 238k, while it was up 230K in the prior week. In the prior week, the initial claims level was 230K and the change in initial claims was down 10K.

The Personal Income and Outlays for July will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the prior month.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Susan Collins will speak virtually before the Bunker Hill Community College annual convocation at 9.00 am ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm. In the prior week, the level was at $8.139 trillion.

The Chicago PMI for August will be published at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is 44.6, while it was up 42.8 in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 18 bcf.

The Agriculture Department’s Farm Prices for July is expected at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month, Farm prices were up 0.4 percent.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.55 percent to 3,119.88.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.55 percent to 18,382.06.

Japanese shares advanced as investors reacted to mixed economic data. The Nikkei average jumped 0.88 percent to 32,619.34, extending gains for a fourth consecutive session led by automakers. The broader Topix index settled 0.80 percent higher at 2,332.

Australian markets fluctuated before finishing slightly higher for the day. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.10 percent to 7,305.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.15 percent higher at 7,517.80.

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