By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to open mixed Thursday, amid cautious trading ahead of the release of key employment data while coronavirus cases continue to soar.
At 7:20 AM ET (1120 GMT), S&P 500 Futures traded 3 points, or 0.1%, lower, Nasdaq Futures rose 32 points, or 0.3%, after the Nasdaq Composite cash index posted a fresh record closing high Wednesday. The Dow Futures contract fell 73 points, or 0.3%.
U.S. equity markets have posted strong gains since the depths of March, helped by better-than-expected economic data and extraordinary fiscal and monetary aid from the U.S. authorities to combat the impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
However, the recent surge of coronavirus cases has created doubts over the likelihood of a prompt economic recovery. On Wednesday, the U.S. registered a new daily record of fresh cases, over 62,000, with populous states Texas and California offering up their largest one-day increases.
Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday that this could cause the U.S. economy to recover more slowly than expected and demand for the Federal Reserve’s Main Street lending program, which aims to support small and mid-sized businesses, could grow over time.
With this in mind, focus will turn to the weekly initial jobless claims number, at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), which is expected to be 1.4 million, about even with the prior week. Continuing jobless claims are expected to be 18.9 million, slightly down from earlier.
Jobs trends had been positive as states and cities came back from Covid lockdowns, but some areas have now been forced to slow down or reverse reopenings.
In corporate news, Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) is likely to be in the spotlight after it reported disappointing first-quarter earnings after the close on Wednesday, stating that it now plans to close roughly 200 stores in the next two years. Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) also disappointed with its fiscal third-quarter earnings.
On the flip side, Costco (NASDAQ:COST) said its June sales rose 11% from a year ago, with e-commerce sales increasing 86%.
Oil prices stagnated Thursday, despite U.S. government data showing Wednesday that gasoline stockpiles fell by much more than expected as demand climbed to its highest level since late March.
Prices have been held in a narrow band over the past two weeks as concern about the pandemic globally tempers hopes for a recovery in fuel demand.
At 7:20 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% lower at $40.82 a barrel. The international benchmark Brent contract was flat at $43.30.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,816.45/oz, while EUR/USD traded at 1.1325, largely flat.