By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to open a touch lower Thursday, consolidating after record closing levels during the previous session, ahead of the release of key economic data.
At 07:00 AM ET (1100 GMT), S&P 500 futures traded 14 points, or 0.4%, lower, the Dow futures contract fell 38 points, or 0.1%, with Nasdaq 100 futures dropping 125 points, or 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday 1.6%, or 453 points, higher at 29,099, its highest level and first time above 29,000 since Feb. 20. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6% and 1% respectively to close at record highs.
Confirmation that the Federal Reserve is set to maintain an easy-money policy for the foreseeable future has helped power the stock market forward, while reports of new talks over the stalled stimulus bill have fanned expectations of a deal.
That said, the window for a deal to be reached in Congress is tightening as the presidential election draws nearer.
"With the US election under just over [two] months away this could well be the last legislative battle before ballots are cast," Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid said, in a note to clients Wednesday. "A lack of stimulus could result in softer data in the upcoming months."
There are some important economic data releases later Thursday, including the weekly release of initial and continuing jobless claims. These have been running at elevated levels, pointing to a sustained high level of lay-offs even as the economy rebounds.
This follows Wednesday’s data showing the U.S. economy created 428,000 private jobs last month, well short of estimates of 950,000, and ahead of Friday’s monthly official employment report.
In addition, Thursday marks the release of the latest ISM non-manufacturing index, a measure of business activity in hard-hit sectors of the service economy.
In corporate news, DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) is set to report earnings Thursday, and is expected to benefit from the stay-at-home orders that forced businesses to move online. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) also reports, and is likely to have benefited from a trend toward cloud computing and the anticipation of 5G network technology.
Oil prices weakened Thursday, continuing Wednesday’s sharp losses amid concerns about the demand for fuel given a patchy U.S. economic recovery..
U.S. crude futures traded 1.8% lower at $40.77 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 1.7% to $43.69. Both benchmark contracts saw falls of more than 2% on Wednesday, with WTI sliding to its lowest close in nearly four weeks and Brent at its lowest since Aug. 21.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,937.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.4% lower at 1.1812.