Dow futures edge higher but recession concerns limit gains

By Noreen Burke

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening slightly higher on Thursday, as investors parse the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting which added to concerns over the prospect of a recession.

At 06:05 ET (10:05 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 24 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures traded 7 points or 0.2% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures traded 40 points, or 0.3% higher.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed in negative territory on Wednesday, after minutes from the Fed’s March meeting indicated that policymakers expect the recent banking crisis to cause a recession later this year.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.1%, the broad-based S&P 500 ended 0.4% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%.

The minutes came on the heels of data showing that while U.S. consumer prices barely rose in March underlying inflation remains persistent, cementing expectations for another rate hike at the Fed’s upcoming meeting in early May.

Markets were turning their focus to data on producer price inflation due out later in the session, which is expected to show price pressures moderating. The weekly report on initial jobless claims is also set to be released at the same time, with economists expecting a slight uptick from the prior week.

Investors were also looking ahead to the start of first-quarter earnings season on Friday, with major banks including JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) along with investment manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) due to report.

Stocks likely to be in focus include Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), which is scheduled to report its quarterly numbers, with analysts waiting to hear what the carrier says about labor and fuel costs and travel demand.

Oil prices were slightly lower, as Fed talk about a possible recession weighed on the demand outlook.

U.S. crude futures were down 0.1% at $83.19 a barrel, while the Brent contract edged down by 0.2% to $87.22 per barrel.

The proximity to the release of the monthly report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has also prompted caution.

This is due later in the session and is expected to provide more cues on crude demand and supply after the cartel unexpectedly cut production earlier this month.