Futures Suggest Wall Street To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower on Thursday. Geopolitical developments might get much attention today.

In the Asian trading session, oil edged up.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading mixed.

As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 109.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 8.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 51.00 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Thursday firmly positive. The Dow climbed 306.78 points or 0.6 percent to 49,384.01, the Nasdaq advanced 211.20 points or 0.9 percent to 23,436.02 and the S&P 500 rose 37.73 points or 0.6 percent to 6,913.35.

On the economic front, the PMI Composite Flash for January will be released at 9.45 am ET. In the prior final, the composite Index was 52.7, while the manufacturing Index was 51.8.

The Consumer Sentiment for January will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 54.0, while it was up 54.0 in the prior month.

The Leading Indicators for November is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. In the prior month, the indicators were down 0.3 percent.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.33 percent to 4,136.16. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.45 percent to close at 26,749.51.

Japanese markets eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average edged up by 0.29 percent to 53,846.87 while the broader Topix index settled 0.37 percent higher at 3,629.70.

Australian markets rose modestly. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up by 0.13 percent to 8,860.10 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 0.19 percent at 9,189.90.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 33.74 points or 0.41 percent. The German DAX is progressing 19.95 points or 0.08 percent. The U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 5.59 points or 0.06 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is down 77.62 points or 0.58 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 18.93 points or 0.32 percent.