U.S. Stocks May Move To The Downside In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.

Traders may look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach their best closing levels in well over two months on Wednesday.

Stocks have recently benefitted from easing trade concerns after the U.S. reached agreements with the U.K. and China to reduce tariffs.

Early trading may be impacted by reaction to an avalanche of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing producer prices unexpectedly decrease in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.4 percent in April from a revised 3.4 percent in March.

The Labor Department also released a separate report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended May 10th

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 229,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week's revised level.

Economists had expected jobless claims to tick up to 229,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Another report released by the Commerce Department showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

Just before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of April. Industrial production is expected to rise by 0.2 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.

Reports on homebuilder confidence and business inventories are also scheduled to be released not long after the start of trading.

After moving to the upside at the start of trading on Wednesday, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the session. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed.

The Dow slipped 89.37 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 42,051.06, while the Nasdaq climbed 136.72 points or 0.7 percent to close at 19,146.81 and the S&P 500 rose 6.03 points or 0.1 percent to end at 5,892.58.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $1.94 to $61.21 a barrel after falling $0.52 to $63.15 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $59.50 to $3,188.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $0.70 to $3,189 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.85 yen versus the 146.75 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1202 compared to yesterday's $1.1197.