Dow futures rise 80 pts ahead of weekly jobless claims data

By Peter Nurse

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally higher Thursday, rebounding after the previous session’s selloff, although gains are likely to be limited as investors remain concerned about the possibility of a recession in the new year.

At 06:55 ET (11:55 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 80 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures traded 16 points, or 0.4% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 80 points, or 0.7%.

The three major averages closed sharply lower Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 365 points, or 1.1%, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.4%.

These main indices are on course to post their worst yearly performance since 2008, with the Nasdaq the biggest loser, set to drop by around a third, as the fear of a recession as a result of aggressive monetary tightening prompted investors to rotate out of growth stocks.

The main economic data release Thursday is the weekly jobless claims number, which is expected to edge up to 225,000 for the week ended Dec. 24, a rise from 216,000 during the previous period.

Data released by the European Central Bank earlier Thursday showed that bank lending to Eurozone companies slowed in November as rising interest rates and a looming recession appeared to be taking a toll.

Also likely to weigh on sentiment Thursday was Ukraine reporting a new wave of Russian missile strikes, with blasts heard in several cities, including the capital Kyiv.

In the corporate sector, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) is likely to be in the spotlight Thursday, after the carrier canceled approximately 60% of today’s flights, adding to the thousands already scrapped this week, prompting the wrath of the country’s regulators.

Oil prices fell Wednesday as the surge in COVID cases in China, the largest importer of crude in the world, dampened hopes for an increase in demand from this important source.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 1.3 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 23, according to data supplied by the industry body American Petroleum Institute, which was less than expected.

The U.S. government, in the form of the Energy Information Administration, will release its official weekly figures later in the session.

By 06:55 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.2% lower at $77.99 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.9% to $83.20.

Additionally, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,813.45/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0633.