Wall Street Aims To Open Marginally Up

(RTTNews) - Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open slightly positive on Thursday. The continuing U.S. shutdown and geopolitical situations might be influencing investor sentiments.

Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading broadly down.

As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 1.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 9.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 30.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Wednesday. The Nasdaq advanced 151.16 points or 0.7 percent to 23,499.80, the Dow climbed 225.76 points or 0.5 percent to 47,311.00 and the S&P 500 rose 24.74 points or 0.4 percent to 6,796.29.

On the economic front, the Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus for initial claims is 232K.

The Productivity and Costs for the third quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 2.7 percent, while it was up 3.3 percent in the prior quarter.

The Wholesale Inventories (Preliminary) for September will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 0.1 percent.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be revealed at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 74 bcf.

Fed Governor Michael Barr will participate in virtual 'Community Development' discussion hosted by Fed Communities at 11.00 am ET.

New York Fed President John Williams will give lecture on 'The Natural Rate of Interest' before event organized by the Goethe University Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability at 11.00 am ET.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack will speak before an Economic Club of New York webinar 12.00 pm ET.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller will participate in 'Central Banking and the Future of Payments' panel before the Bank of Canada 2025 Annual Economic Conference at 3.30 pm ET.

Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson will speak on 'The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Consumer Finance Institute' before the 'New Perspectives on Consumer Behavior in Credit and Payments Markets Conference 2025' hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia at 4.30 pm ET.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Fixed Income Analysts Society, Inc. at 5.30 pm ET.

Asian markets rose on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.97 percent to 4,007.76. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 2.12 percent to 26,485.90.

Japanese markets rose sharply. The Nikkei average climbed 1.34 percent to 50,883.68 while the broader Topix index settled 1.38 percent higher at 3,313.45.

Australian markets eked out modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.30 percent to 8,828.30. The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.30 percent at 9,098.60.

In the Asian trading session, gold climbed above $4,000 per ounce, while the dollar eased. Oil prices rose slightly.

Overnight, U.S. stocks fluctuated before closing higher as upbeat earnings and solid economic data outweighed jitters over inflated tech stock valuations.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 42,000 jobs in October after slipping by a revised 29,000 jobs in September.

Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 25,000 jobs compared to the loss of 32,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Institute for Supply Management released a report that showed U.S. service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in eight months amid a surge in new orders.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 0.7 percent, boosted by a rebound in artificial intelligence-linked stocks, including Advanced Micro Devices. The Dow gained half a percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent.