(RTTNews) - Initial trends from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open mostly up on Thursday.
Asian shares were broadly down at the close, while European shares are trading up.
Oil prices traded lower for a third consecutive session in the Asian trading hours. Brent crude and WTI reached their lowest levels in four months.
Gold rose toward $4,100 an ounce. Spot gold rose nearly 1 percent to $4,069.50 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were little changed at $4,081.70.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 65.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 0.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 55.50 points.
The U.S. major averages finished lower on Wednesday. The Dow dipped 13.96 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 52,305.24, coming off a record closing high. The NASDAQ sank 173.69 points or 0.66 percent to close at 26.040.03 and the S&) 500 fell 16.13 points or 0.22 percent to end at 7,483.23.
On the economic front, the Employment Situation for June will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 114,000, while it was up 172,000 in the prior month. The Unemployment rate is 4.3 percent, while it was up 4.3 percent in the prior month. The Private Payrolls is expected to 123,000, while it was up 120,000 in the prior month. The Average Hourly Earnings is projected to increase 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the prior month.
The Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 220K, while it was up 215K in the prior week.
The Factory Orders for May will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 2.0 percent, while it was up 4.8 percent in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 76 bcf.
Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig Count was 770, while the U.S. rig count was 573.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was $6.736 trillion.
Asian stocks retreated on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 2.03 percent to 4,028.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.76 percent to 23,055.03.
Japanese markets tumbled. The Nikkei average slumped 2.47 percent to 68,733.15 while the broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 4,014.98.
Australian markets ended on a flat note.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index slipped 0.21 percent to 13,582.19.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
