Last Updated: 10:45 AM EST
Indices are in the red so far in today’s trading session amid soft economic data. In fact, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in worse than expected. In the past week, 249,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 236,000 individuals.
In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.877 million. This was above the forecast of 1.86 million and higher than last week’s print of 1.844 million.
It’s worth noting that Continuing Jobless Claims have been on an overall uptrend since hitting record lows in September 2022, as the layoffs from large companies continue to impact the workforce.
Furthermore, the Institute for Supply Management put out its monthly report for the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures the month-over-month change in production levels. A number over 50 represents an expansion, whereas anything below 50 means a contraction. The report came in at 46.8, which was lower than the expected 48.8.
First Published: 4:49 AM EST
U.S. futures moved higher on Thursday morning as investors cheered Meta Platform’s (META) impressive second-quarter results. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by about 0.72%, 0.48%, and 0.02%, respectively, at 3:43 a.m. EST, August 1.
The three major indices ended yesterday’s trading on a positive note. Apart from Meta’s strong results, the upside could be due to investors’ optimism over Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments from yesterday. The Fed hinted that it might lower interest rates at the next meeting if the data shows that inflation is easing.
In after-hours action, Meta stock gained over 7.2% as investors were impressed with its better-than-expected second-quarter results and upbeat guidance. On the other hand, Arm Holdings (ARM) dropped about 11% after the company provided soft guidance for the fiscal second quarter.
Among the key economic reports, July’s ISM Manufacturing Purchase Managers’ Index (PMI) data will be released today. Moreover, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ended July 26 will be made public today.
Additionally, companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Coinbase (COIN), Intel (INTC), Roku (ROKU), and Snap (SNAP) are slated to report earnings later today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.06%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended higher, hovering near $78.81 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets opened lower on Thursday as traders evaluated several key corporate earnings and awaited the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision.
Asia-Pacific Markets Ended Lower on Thursday
Asia-Pacific indices declined today as investors assessed Powell’s comments. Further, Japanese stocks were hit hard as traders anticipated more rate hikes from the Bank of Japan.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.15%. Also, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices climbed lower by 0.22% and 0.92%, respectively. At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices closed down by 2.49% and 3.24%, respectively.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
