US Stock Futures Up Ahead of Weekly Jobless Report
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Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — U.S. stock futures are up ahead of Thursday’s opening bell as investors await a key economic report being released before trading kicks off.
The day before, Wall Street closed the day mixed after business software maker Oracle announced it was having difficulty closing deals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were able to make a slight recovery, closing up four points and two points on Wednesday, respectively, but the Nasdaq didn’t fare as well, slipping 26 points.
At 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday, the Labor Department will release its weekly report on jobless claims. Stocks could take another dip if the data show claims rose last week, as many economists predict they have. The previous report showed claims fell to 366,000 for the week ending Dec. 10.
Overseas, European stocks are trading higher on Thursday while Asian ones ended with losses. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sank 1.18 percent, Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 0.77 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.22 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.21 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.05 percent.
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