Nervous Markets Look To Commodities For Inspiration

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a narrowly mixed opening on Thursday, with sentiment reflecting nervousness, as traders head into an abbreviated session. Jobless claims fell more than expected, according to a report released by the Labor Department. With the dollar languishing, the commodities have firmed up further. In the absence of any major catalysts, profit taking following the 3-day run up may result in weakness, although year end buying cannot be ruled out.   U.S. stocks advanced notably on Wednesday, extending their gains for the third straight session as oil rallied strongly and economic data came in mixed.   The major U.S. averages opened higher and moved roughly sideways till late afternoon trading. After a steady advance, the indexes consolidated going into the close, ending just off their highs for the session.   The Dow Industrials added 185.34 points or 1.06 percent before ending at 17,603, the S&P 500 Index closed 25.32 points or 1.24 percent higher at 2,064 and the Nasdaq Composite ended at 5,046, up 44.82 points or 0.90 percent. The Dow is still in the red for the year, although the S&P 500 Index has moved back into the green.   Twenty-eight of the thirty Dow components closed higher, with Caterpillar (CAT), Chevron (CVX), DuPont (DD) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) leading the gains. On the other hand, Disney (DIS) fell 1.11 percent and NIKE (NIKE) declined 2.38 percent following its revenue miss.   Among the sectors, resource stocks jumped sharply. Transportation, utility, housing, financial and computer hardware stocks also saw strong gains.   On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders were unchanged in November compared to the previous month. This belied expectations for a 0.5 percent drop. Excluding transportation, orders edged down 0.1 percent compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.   Motor vehicle orders were up 1.5 percent, boosting transportation orders. Non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft and parts, fell 0.4 percent, and shipments of this category of goods slipped 0.5 percent.   Another government report showed that personal income rose 0.3 percent month-over-month, helped by a 0.5 percent month-over-month increase in wages.   The Commerce Department also reported that new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 490,000 in November compared to a 470,000-unit rate in October. The previous month's data was downwardly revised from the initially reported reading of 495,000. Economists had expected new home sales for November to come in at a 503,000-unit rate.   New home inventories increased to 232,000 in November from 237,000 in October, with the months supply at 5.7 months. The median price of a new home climbed 6.3 percent month-over-month and 0.8 percent year-over-year to $305,000.   The University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for December rose to 92.6 from November's 91.3, while economists expected a reading of 92. Preliminary estimates had pitched the number at 91.8   Currency, Commodity Markets   Crude oil futures are rising $0.21 to $37.71 a barrel after rallying $1.36 to $37.50 a barrel on Wednesday.    The previous session's jump came amid the release of the weekly petroleum status report, which showed that crude oil stockpiles fell by 5.9 million barrels to 484.80 million barrels in the week ended December 18th. Stockpiles are still near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.   Distillate inventories fell by 0.7 million barrels but were in the upper half of the average range for this time of the year. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels but were in the lower half of the average range.   Refinery capacity utilization averaged 92.7 percent over the four weeks ended December 18th compared to 92.9 percent over the four weeks ended December 11th.   An ounce of gold is currently trading at $1,072.10, up $3.80 from the previous session's close of $1,068.30. On Wednesday, gold fell $5.90.   On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 120.38 yen compared to the 120.92 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0946 compared to yesterday's $1.0912.   Asia   The major Asian averages ended mixed in thin pre-holiday trade, with most markets having a truncated session on account of the impending Christmas holiday. Although the overnight gains on Wall Street and oil's gains provided an upward thrust, the Japanese and Chinese markets succumbed to a firmer yen and economic worries, respectively.   The Japanese market, which reopened after Wednesday's public holiday, retreated as the yen firmed up. The Nikkei 225 Index opened higher but gave back its gains over the course of the morning and showed indecision till late afternoon trading. Subsequently, the average pulled back into negative territory before ending down 97.01 points or 0.51 percent at 18,790.   A majority of stocks retreated in the session, led by most export, retail, real estate, insurance, housing and chemical stocks. However, food, mining, heavy machinery, trading, banking and marine transportation stocks gained ground.   Australia's All Ordinaries Index closed the abbreviated session solidly higher, climbing 62.60 points or 1.21 percent to 5,25, its highest level since December 3rd.   The Hong Kong market, which closed early ahead of Christmas, saw its key Hang Seng Index gain 97.54 points or 0.44 percent to 22,138. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite Index ended down 23.60 points or 0.65 percent at 3,613.   On the economic front, the minutes of the Bank of Japan's November Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed that members view weakness from commodity-exporting economies as the primary downside risk. Members also noted that capital spending is increasing as industrial profits improve.   The minutes also revealed that most members believe that stimulus could be expanded if risks increase, dissuading firms from raising wages and prices.   In a speech, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Japanese economy and price trends have turned favorable due to stimulus efforts. Kuroda sees further progress in the coming year.   The Conference Board reported that its leading economic indicators index for Australia edged down 0.1 percent month-over-month in October following a downwardly revised 0.3 percent drop in September.   Europe   European stocks started the abbreviated session on a mixed note, although the German market was closed for a holiday. The French CAC 40 Index ended modestly lower, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index saw a modest upward bounce at the open.   U.S. Economic Reports   The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims report for the week ended December 19th fell to 267,000 from the previous week's revised level of 272,000. Economists had expected claims to have declined to 270,000 from 271,000 originally reported for the previous week.   The four-week moving average rose to 272,500 from 270,750. Continuing claims calculated with a week's lag fell to 2.195 million in the week ended December 12th from 2.242 million in the week ended December 5th.   The Treasury Department is set to make announcements concerning next week's auctions of 2-year, 5-year and 7-year notes at 11 am ET.   Stocks in Focus   Viacom (VIAB) recommended that its shareholders reject a mini-tender offer by TRC Capital to purchase up to 2.50 million shares of Viacom Class B shares at a price of $38.88 per share.   Journal Media (JMG) said it will hold a special meeting of its shareholders on March 1st, 2016 to vote on the proposal for its impending acquisition by Gannett Co. (GCI) for $12 per share in cash.