Profit Taking May Contribute To Initial Pullback On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the downside in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.2 percent.

Traders may look to cash in on recent strength in the markets, as the rally seen during Wednesday's session more than offset the pullback seen to start the week.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both surged to new record closing highs despite lingering uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East.

A steep drop by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) is also likely to weigh on the markets, with the tech giant plunging by 7.8 percent in pre-market trading.

The slump by IBM comes after the company reported better than expected first quarter earnings but failed to raise its full-year guidance.

Industrial giant Honeywell (HON) may also come under pressure after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but forecasting weaker than expected second quarter earnings.

On the other hand, shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) are soaring by 9.6 percent in pre-market trading after the chipmaker reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 18th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 214,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 208,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 212,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Wednesday, more than offsetting the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 saw further upside going into the close, ending the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 397.60 points or 1.6 percent to 24,657.57 and the S&P 500 jumped 73.89 points or 1.1 percent to 7,137.90.

The narrower Dow gave back ground after an early advance but still ended the day firmly positive, closing up 340.65 points or 0.7 percent at 49,490.03.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.04 to $92.92 a barrel after spiking $3.29 to $92.96 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $33.40 to $4,753 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $2.40 to $4,750.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.47 yen versus the 159.48 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1694 compared to yesterday's $1.1703.