Futures Suggests Significantly Lower Open For Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Investors might be reacting to initial jobless claims on Thursday. Initial trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open in negative territory.

Tariff threats from President Trump continues has announced a fresh round of tariffs on imports from eight nations. He declared a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports

In the Asian trading session, gold edged higher, while oil prices were little changed.

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

As of 8.15 am ET, the Dow futures were down 54.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 3.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 2.50 points.

The U.S. major averages closed firmly positive on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 192.87 points or 0.9 percent to close at 20,611.34. The S&P 500 climbed 37.74 points or 0.6 percent to 6,263.26 and the Dow rose 217.54 points or 0.5 percent to 44,458.30.

On the economic front, the Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be released at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $6.66 trillion.

The Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 238K, while it was up 233K in the prior week.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be released at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was 55 bcf.

The 30-year Treasury Bond Auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will participate in a fireside chat on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before a live broadcast forum hosted by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum at 10.00 am ET.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller will participates in 'Balance Sheet' discussion before event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth at 1.15 pm ET.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speaks 'The U.S. Economic Outlook and Challengers for Policymakers' before an MNI Livestreamed Connect Video Conference at 2.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks were higher on Thursday's close. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.48 percent to 3,509.68 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.57 percent to 24,028.37.

Japanese markets ended lower. The Nikkei average dropped 0.44 percent to 39,646.36 while the broader Topix index settled 0.56 percent lower at 2,812.34.

Australian markets advanced. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.59 percent to 8,589.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.56 percent at 8,826.70.

European shares are trading broadly up. CAC 40 of France is adding 22.79 points or 0.29 percent. DAX of Germany is down 9.48 points or 0.04 percent. FTSE 100 of England is gaining 89.73 points or 1.01 percent. The Swiss Market Index is progressing 77.35 points or 0.64 percent. Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.059 percent.