On Thursday, reaction to the Fed announcement is continuing. Earnings reports and geopolitical reports are influencing market sentiments. <\/p>\n
Weekly jobless claims, service sector activity, labor productivity as well as factory orders are the major economic announcements on the day. <\/p>\n
As of 6.00 am ET, the Dow futures were up 2.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 3.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 23.00 points.<\/p>\n
The U.S. major averages were sharply down at the close of trading on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The Dow slumped 505.44 points or 1.6 percent to 32,147.76, the Nasdaq plunged 366.05 points or 3.4 percent to 10,524.80 and the S&P 500 tumbled 96.41 points or 2.5 percent to 3,759.69.<\/p>\n
On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s International Trade in Goods and Services for September will be revealed at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a deficit of $71.1 billion, while it was down $67.4 billion in August. <\/p>\n
The Labor Department’s Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 222K, while it was up $217K in the previous week. <\/p>\n
The Labor Department’s Productivity and Costs for the third quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus for the non-farm productivity annual rate is for an increase of 0.5 percent, while it was down 4.1 percent in the previous quarter. <\/p>\n
IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI will be released at 9.45 am ET. <\/p>\n
The Commerce Department’s Factory Orders for September will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was 0.0 percent. <\/p>\n
The Institute for Supply Management’s Services Index for October will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 55.4, while it was up 56.7. <\/p>\n
The Energy Information Administration or EIA’s Natural Gas Report for the week is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was 52 bcf. <\/p>\n
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.723 trillion. <\/p>\n
Asian stocks finished lower on Thursday. China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.19 percent to 2,997.81.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slumped 3.08 percent to 15,339.49.<\/p>\n