Stocks - U.S. Futures Higher Ahead of Key Jobless Claims Data

By Peter Nurse    

Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to push higher Thursday as confidence grows that some states will open their economies in the near future, but gains will be limited ahead of the latest unemployment data and as the earnings season continues.

At 7:10 AM ET (1110 GMT), S&P 500 futures traded 12 points, or 0.4%, higher, Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 67 points, or 0.8%. The Dow futures contract rose 79 points, or 0.3%. 

The U.S. has "passed the peak" of new coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump said in his daily White House briefing late Wednesday, and predicted some states would reopen this month.

Trump added new guidelines would be announced later Thursday after he had spoken to governors.

However, this good news is likely to be put into context with the release of the weekly initial jobless claims figure, seen as the key economic indicator of the Covid-19 era, at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).

While a drop from the record claims number the week before, economists are still expecting a staggering 5.12 million people filed for first-time unemployment benefits

A total of “16.8 million Americans already filed for unemployment benefits in the previous three weeks and there is no reason to believe numbers stopped surging last week,” said Danske Bank, in a note to investors.

As the earnings continue to come in, the banking sector will remain in the spotlight in what has proved so far to be a difficult quarter.  The banks which have already reported earlier this week have set aside over $25 billion combined for loan losses, as they brace for a deep recession, but have posted some stellar numbers for trading revenue. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) steps up next.

Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK)’s first quarter earnings beat forecasts and revenue topped expectations, with EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $4.11 billion.

Also of note, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) will be closely watched before the bell.

The pharma company announced this week it has launched a lab-based test for Covid-19, its third one for the virus. Abbott Labs plans to distribute 4 million of the tests in April, going up to 20 million per month in June.

Oil prices edged higher Thursday, after Wednesday’s hefty losses after the United States reported its biggest weekly inventory build on record, with crude stockpiles rising by 19 million barrels last week.

At 7:10 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.4% higher at $20.15 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 3.4% to $28.62.

Elsewhere, gold futures rose 1.2% to $1,761.20/oz, while EUR/USD traded at $1.0877, down 0.3%.

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