On Thursday, corporate quarterly results might be the highlight. Meta Platforms, eBay and Mattel will be releasing their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.
The first quarter GDP, Weekly Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales are the major economic announcements today.
As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were climbing 139.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 22.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 115.75 points.
The U.S. major averages finished Wednesday broadly lower. The Nasdaq closed up 55.19 points or 0.5 percent at 11,854.35. The Dow slid 228.96 points or 0.7 percent to 33,301.87, and the S&P 500 fell 15.64 points or 0.4 percent to 4,055.99.
On the economic front, the GDP for the first quarter will be announced at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 2.0 percent, while it was up 2.6 percent in the previous month.
The Pending Home Sales Index for March will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.4 percent, while it was up 0.8 percent in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the fourth week is expected at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 75 bcf.
The seven-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the fourth week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was up$8.593 trillion.
Asian stocks ended Thursday’s session mostly higher. Chinese shares rose notably. The benchmark Shanghai Composite climbed 0.67 percent to 3,285.88.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged up 0.42 percent to 19,840.29.
Japanese shares closed slightly higher. The Nikkei average rose 0.15 percent to 28,457.68 while the broader Topix index settled 0.43 percent higher at 2,032.51.
Australian markets ended lower for a fifth straight session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.32 percent to 7,292.70 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.27 percent lower at 7,482.20.
European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is adding 23.60 points or 0.30 percent. The German DAX is progressing 10.97 points or 0.07 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is declining 6.85 points or 0.09 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is adding 8.33 points or 0.08 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.22 percent.
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