Futures Pointing To Continued Weakness On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the downside in early trading on Thursday, extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. 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.

Concerns about a recent surge by treasury yields may continue to weigh on Wall Street, as the thirty-year bond yield reaches its highest levels since 2023.

Treasury yields have jumped amid concerns about the fiscal impact of a Republican tax cut bill, which passed the House in a largely party-line vote early this morning.

Analysts warn the bill could add trillions to the federal government's already massive $36.2 trillion debt pile. The plan has sparked fears of an even wider deficit, especially as interest payments continue to soar.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump called the bill "arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country" and urged the Senate to send the bill to his desk as soon as possible.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a slight decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 17th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 231,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 230,500.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on existing home sales in the month of April. Existing home sales are expected to increase to an annual rate of 4.13 million in April after plunging to a rate of 4.02 million in March.

Following a moderate pullback during Tuesday's session, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages rebounded from an initial decline but once again slumped into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels but still sharply lower. The Dow plunged 816.80 points or 1.9 percent to 41,860.44, the S&P 500 slumped 95.85 points or 1.6 percent to 5,844.61 and the Nasdaq tumbled 270.07 points or 1.4 percent to 18,872.64.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.0 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $0.91 to $60.66 a barrel after falling $0.46 to $61.57 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after jumping $28.90 to $3,313.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $3.10 to $3,310.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 143.54 yen versus the 143.68 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1289 compared to yesterday's $1.1331.