U.S. Stocks May See Further Downside In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Thursday, extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.5 percent.

Ongoing concerns about the near-term outlook for the artificial intelligence trade may continue to weigh on the markets.

Nvidia (NVDA) and Oracle (ORCL) may continue to lead the markets lower, with the AI players slumping 1.2 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, in pre-market trading.

The futures saw further downside following the release of a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 20th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 218,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 232,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 231,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The data may lead to worries signs of strength in the labor market will convince the Federal Reserve it is not necessary to continue lowering interest rates.

The Commerce Department also released a report unexpectedly showing a significant rebound by durable goods orders in the month of August.

The report said durable goods orders surged by 2.9 percent in August after tumbling by a revised 2.7 percent in July.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.5 percent compared to the 2.8 percent plunge that had been reported for the previous month.

On Friday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on personal income and spending in August, which includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

Not long after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is also scheduled to release a separate report on existing home sales in the month of August.

Existing home sales are expected to decrease by 1.3 percent to an annual rate of 3.96 million in August after jumping by 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 4.01 million in July.

After coming under pressure over the course of Tuesday's session, stocks saw further downside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the session but slid more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages finished the day off their worst levels but still moderately lower. The Dow slid 171.50 points or 0.4 percent at 46,121.28, the Nasdaq fell 75.62 points or 0.3 percent to 22,497.86 and the S&P 500 dipped 18.95 points or 0.3 percent to 6,637.97.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed narrowly mixed on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the unchanged line and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.42 to $64.57 a barrel after surging $1.58 to $64.99 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $47.60 to $3,768.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3.60 to $3,771.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.19 yen versus the 148.90 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1701 compared to yesterday's $1.1738.