Wall Street Poised To Start Lower

Investor sentiments might be influenced by the Jobless Claims, Producer Prices Index as well as the Housing Starts data to be published on Thursday.

Earnings also will be closely monitored today.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.

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

As of 7.10 am ET, the Dow futures were down 21.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 6.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 27.75 points.

The U.S. major averages all finished Wednesday higher. The Nasdaq jumped 110.45 points or 0.9 percent to 12,070.59, the S&P 500 rose 11.47 points or 0.3 percent to 4,147.60 and the Dow inched up 38.78 points or 0.1 percent to 34,128.05.

On the economic front, the Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be issued at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was up $8.435 trillion.

The Housing Starts and Permits for January will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 1.365 million, while it was up 1.382 million in the prior month.

The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 200k, while it was up 196k in the prior week.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for February will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 7.2, while it was down 8.9 in the prior month.

The Producer Price Index or PPI of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for January is expected at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.4 percent, while it was down 0.5 percent.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week will be announced at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was down 217 bcf.

Two-year floating rate note, two-year Treasury note auction, five-year Treasury Note auction, and seven-year treasury note auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.

Asian markets gained on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.96 percent to 3,249.03. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 157 points or 1.3 percent to close at 11,907.40.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 195 points or 0.71 percent to end trading at 27,696.44. The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange advanced 176 points or 0.84 percent from the previous close of 20,987.67.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 closed trading at 7,410.30 after gaining 58 points or 0.79 percent.

European shares are trading mostly higher. CAC 40 of France is gaining 75.37 points or 1.03 percent. DAX of Germany is adding 79.90 points or 0.52 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 15.72 points or 0.20 percent. The Swiss Market Index is declining 16.51 points or 0.15 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.62 percent.

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