U.S. Stocks May Extend Upward Trend Amid Light Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Thursday as some traders return to their desks following the holiday on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 33 points.

The markets may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped lift the major averages to new record highs in recent sessions.

The likely signing of a phase one U.S.-China trade deal has helped to maintain positive sentiment on Wall Street over the past couple weeks.

Stocks have continued to trudge higher despite a lack of major catalysts, with traders seemingly reluctant to cash in on recent gains amid worries about missing out on further upside.

Window dressing and the so-called Santa Claus rally may continue to propel stocks higher even as trading remains subdued due to the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the Labor Department released a report showing a continued pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended December 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 222,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 235,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 224,000 from the 234,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Jobless claims fell for the second straight week after reaching their highest level since September of 2017 in the week ended December 7th.

With some traders getting a head start on the Christmas holiday, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq still crept up to a new record closing high.

The major averages finished the abbreviated session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq inched up 7.24 points or 0.1 percent to 8,952.88, the Dow dipped 36.08 points or 0.1 percent to 28,515.45 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.63 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,223.38.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, following the Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday, markets in Europe remained closed on Thursday in observance of Boxing Day.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.04 to $61.15 a barrel after climbing $0.59 to $61.11 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,511, up $6.20 compared to the previous session's close of $1,504.80. On Tuesday, gold jumped $16.10.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 109.60 yen compared to the 109.38 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1096 compared to yesterday's $1.1093.