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

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Thursday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.6 percent.

The upward momentum on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips but said companies that are "building in the United States" would be exempt.

"The good news for companies like Apple is if you're building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge," Trump said.

"So in other words, we'll be putting a tariff on of approximately 100 percent on chips and semiconductors," he added. "But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge."

The announcement of the tariff on semiconductors and chips came as Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook joined Trump to confirm the company plans to invest another $100 billion in the U.S.

After helping to lead the markets higher on reports of the investment on Wednesday, shares of Apple are jumping by another 2.8 percent in pre-market trading.

However, shares of Intel (INTC) are tumbling by 3.1 percent in pre-market trading after Trump called on CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign immediately, calling him "highly conflicted."

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended August 2nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 226,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 221,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Labor Department this morning showed a significant rebound by labor productivity in the second quarter.

After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

The Nasdaq jumped 252.87 points or 1.2 percent to 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 climbed 45.87 points or 0.7 percent to 6,345.06. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 81.38 points or 0.2 percent to 44,193.12.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 1.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.33 to $64.68 a barrel after sliding $0.81 to $64.35 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after edging down $1.30 to $3,433.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $31.40 to $3,464.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.22 yen versus the 147.37 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1650 compared to yesterday's $1.1660.