U.S. Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction Following Slew Of Data

(RTTNews) - After ending yesterday's volatile session modestly higher, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they digest the latest earnings news while also keeping an eye on the feud between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

A slew of U.S. economic reports were also released this morning, with traders seemingly taking time to digest the data.

The Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. rebounded by much more than expected in the month of June.

The report said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in June after slumping by 0.9 percent in May. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.5 percent in June after edging down by 0.2 percent in May. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 12th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 235,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department also released a separate report showing import prices in the U.S. inched up by less than expected in the month of June.

Following the mixed performance seen during Tuesday's session, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages moved to the upside in the latter part of the session, however, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Dow advanced 231.49 points or 0.5 percent to 44,254.78, the Nasdaq rose 52.69 points or 0.3 percent to 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 climbed 19.94 points or 0.3 percent to 6,263.70.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index increased by 0.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.9 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.73 to $67.11 a barrel after slipping $0.14 to $66.38 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $22.40 to $3,359.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $36.10 to $3,323 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.75 yen versus the 147.88 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1585 compared to yesterday's $1.1641.