Opening Comment — Thursday, November 21, 2024
DJIA: 43,408.47, up 139.53
S&P 500: 5,917.11, up 0.13
NASDAQ: 18,966.14, down 21.33
Stocks higher ahead of jobless claims data
Stock futures are higher Thursday morning ahead of the latest economic data releases, which include jobless claims, leading indicators, and existing home sales. As of 7:19 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.4%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is also increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Wednesday as investors evaluated the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) commentary and looked forward to tomorrow’s November Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data. The Dow was up 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. The S&P 500 was little changed with six of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Health Care sector was the top performer, rising 1.2%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.6%.
On the data front, the diffusion index of the Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey is expected to decline to 8.0 in November from the prior month’s 10.3. Initial jobless claims for the week ending November 16 are expected to come in at 220,000, slightly higher than the prior week’s 217,000. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending November 9 are expected to have risen to 1.88 million from the prior week’s 1.87 million. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index is expected to show a decline of 0.3% in October following the prior month’s 0.5% decrease. Existing home sales are expected to have been an annualized 3.95 million in October, increasing from the prior month’s 3.84 million pace and corresponding to an increase of 2.9% month over month versus the prior month’s decline of 1.0%.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as France’s manufacturing confidence rose more than forecasted in November.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as investors look forward to key data releases from Japan this evening, including the national Consumer Price Index for October and preliminary November PMIs.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is little changed at the highest level in a year as investors continue assessing the potential path of future U.S. monetary policy easing.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.0% higher at $70.09/barrel despite the unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories as tensions in the war between Russia and Ukraine continue escalating.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.8% higher at $2673.60/ounce.