Stock futures rise ahead of bank earnings, economic data
The parade of bank earnings continues Thursday, with Citigroup, Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp posting ahead of the opening bell
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U.S. equity futures are trading higher ahead of the release of a slew of economic reports.
The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.5% when trading begins on Wall Street.
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The Labor Department will report the new claims for unemployment benefits for last week. Expectations are for 700,000, down from 744,000 the prior week.
At the same time the Commerce Department will release retail sales data for March. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate consumer spending to increase 5.9% month-over-month, after falling 3% in February. Remove the auto component and sales are expected to rise 5.0% after a 2.7% slide in February.
Manufacturing reports are due from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve as well as the New York Fed.
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The Federal Reserve will release industrial production data for March. Estimates are for a monthly increase of 2.8%, rebounding from a 2.2% slide in February.
The National Association of Homebuilders is out with its sentiment index for April. It’s expected to rise a point to 83, signaling that more than 80% of the NAHB’s members found business conditions good.
The parade of bank earnings continues Thursday, Bank of America reported first-quarter net income of $8.05 billion. The bank said it had earnings of 86 cents per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations.
Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp will also report ahead of the opening bell.
In Europe, London's FTSE rose 0.3%, Germany's DAX added 0.2% and France's CAC gained 0.2%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained less than 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.4% and China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43389.6 | -55.39 | -0.13% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5893.62 | +23.00 | +0.39% |
Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.4% below the previous day's record due to losses for major tech stocks while smaller companies rallied.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 33,730.89. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1% to 13,857.84.
COINBASE STOCK JUMPS IN NASDAQ DEBUT
Coinbase Global, an exchange for bitcoin and other digital currencies, closed at $328.28 per share on its first trading day after surging to $430 from an opening price of $381. Shares are up more than 11% Thursday morning at $365.50.
At that price, investors say the company is worth more than $85 billion, more valuable than Nasdaq or Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
PACE OF US ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACCELERATES, FED SAYS
Also Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said again the U.S. central bank will wait to raise interest rates until the job market has healed and inflation is on track to stay above 2%.
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In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 32 cents to $62.82 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.97 on Wednesday to $63.15. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 25 cents to $66.33 per barrel in London. It gained $2.91 the previous session to $66.58.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.