U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction As Traders Digest Latest Data

(RTTNews) - With traders digesting the latest U.S. economic data, 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.

The futures had been pointing a modestly higher open for the markets but gave back ground following the release of separate reports on consumer price inflation and weekly jobless claims.

A closely watched Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in August after inching up by 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in August from 2.7 percent in July, in line with economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in August, matching the increase seen in July as well as expectations.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth in August was unchanged from the previous month at 3.1 percent, in line with economist estimates.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended September 6th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 263,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 236,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000 from the 237,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 268,000 in the week ended October 23, 2021.

While the data may add to recent optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates next week, it may also lead to concerns about the economy entering a period of stagflation.

Stocks moved mostly higher early in the session on Wednesday but gave back ground over the course of the trading day. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq pulled back well off their best levels but still managed to end the day at new record closing highs.

The S&P 500 rose 19.43 points or 0.3 percent to 6,532.04 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 6.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,886.06.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, slid 220.42 points or 0.5 percent to 45,490.92, as Apple (AAPL) slumped following the launch of new iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods on Tuesday. Steep losses by Salesforce (CRM) and Amazon (AMZN) also weighed on the day blue chip index.

In overseas trading, stock market across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 1.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $0.79 to $62.88 a barrel after jumping $1.04 to $63.67 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after edging down $0.20 to $3,682 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $3.60 to $3,678.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.56 yen versus the 147.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1704 compared to yesterday's $1.1695.