Wall Street Might Edge Down At Open

(RTTNews) - The Market sentiments continue to be influenced by the Middle East conflict as U.S.-Iran peace talks are yet to reach a consensus. The initiative to break the deadlock and launch new peace talks has failed to find a way forward.

Oil prices were little changed in the Asian trading session. Brent crude futures for July delivery were down 0.3 percent at $104.72 a barrel while WTI crude futures slipped 0.2 percent to $98.07. Gold dipped toward $4,500 an ounce.

Initial trends from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower on Thursday.

As of 7.50 am ET, the Dow futures were down 73.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 19.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 129.75 points.

The U.S. major averages ended higher on Wednesday. The Nasdaq surged 399.65 points or 1.5 percent to 26,270.36, the Dow shot up 645.47 points or 1.3 percent to 50,009.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.1 percent to 7,432.97.

On the economic front, the Housing Starts and Permits for April will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 1.41 million, while it was up 1.502 million in March.

The Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 213K, while in the prior week, the claims were up 211K.

Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for May is expected at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 15.0, while it was up 26.7 in the previous month.

The PMI Composite Flash for May will be revealed at 9.45 am ET. In the prior month, the Compositie Index was 51.7. The consensus for Manufacturing Index is 53.6, while it was up 54.5 in April. The Services Index is expected to be 51.2, while it was up 51.0 in the prior month.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be issued at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week the gas stock was 85 bcf.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be revealed at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was $6.729 trillion.

The 2-year FRN, 2-year and 5-year Treasury Note auction will be held at 11.00 am ET.

Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index is scheduled at 11.00 am ET.

The 4-week and 8-week Treasury bill auction will be held at 11.30 am ET.

Ten-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities or TIPS auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be published at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the Level was at $6.729 trillion.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin will speak before the Urban Land Institute Triangle Capital Markets Lunch Event at 12.20 pm ET.

Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite index ended 2.04 percent lower at 4,077.28, reversing early gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.03 percent to 25,386.52.

Japanese markets posted strong gains. The Nikkei average jumped 3.14 percent to 61,684.14 while the broader Topix index settled 1.64 percent higher at 3,853.81.

Australian markets ended on a buoyant note. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.47 percent to 8,621.70. The broader All Ordinaries index closed up 1.42 percent at 8,840.80.