Futures Point To Broadly Lower Open

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department's Jobless Claims might get special attention on Thursday.

Early trends from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly down.

In the Asian trading session, the dollar consolidated recent gains.

Oil prices fell sharply. Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 1.5 percent to $96.30 a barrel.

Gold traded higher at $4,460 an ounce while Brent crude futures fell toward $97 a barrel. Spot gold jumped 0.8 percent to $4,468.73 an ounce while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up 0.7 percent at $4,496.70.

As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 333.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were losing 37.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 427.00 points.

The U.S. major averages finished lower on Wednesday. The Dow showed a downward move going into the end of the day, closing down 620.72 points or 1.2 percent at 50,687.07. The Nasdaq also slid 239.93 points or 0.9 percent to 26,853,98, while the S&P 500 fell 56.10 points or 0.7 percent to 7,553.68.

On the economic front, the Jobless Claims for the week will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 212K, while it was up 215K in the prior week.

The Productivity and Costs for the first quarter will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 0.7 percent, while it was up 0.8 percent in the prior quarter.

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 is up 92 bcf.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level is $6.704 trillion.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin will participate in fireside chat before the Loudon County Chamber of Commerce at 8.30 am ET.

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid will participate in moderated fireside chat on the Federal Reserve, monetary policy and the economic outlook before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Forum 1.00 pm ET.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will participate in panel before the Bloomberg Technology Summit at 1.10 pm ET.

Asian stocks retreated on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.64 percent to 4,057.78. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.48 percent to 25,253.40.

Japanese markets fell sharply. The Nikkei average tumbled 1.36 percent to 67,470.69. The broader Topix index settled 1.11 percent lower at 3,951.85.

Australian markets fell to a one-week low. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 1.13 percent at 8,686.10. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 1.11 percent to 8,916.90.