By Barbara Kollmeyer
MADRID--Stock futures indicated a higher start to Wall Street
Thursday, as investors await data on the state of U.S.
manufacturing and weekly jobless claims and speeches from two more
Federal Reserve speakers.
Several retailers will also report, with Abercrombie & Fitch
Co., Dollar Tree Inc. and Target Corp. expected ahead of the
opening bell.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32 points to
15,910 a day after a session plagued by fears about Federal Reserve
tapering, while those for the S&P 500 index rose 3.3 points to
1,783. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 8.25 points to
3,374.75.
The Labor Department will issue the latest reports on weekly
jobless claims and wholesale costs at 8:30 a.m. EST. Economists
predict the number of people applying for new unemployment benefits
will drop to 334,000 in the seven days ended Nov. 16 from a
preliminary 339,000 in the prior week. The producer price index is
due to forecast a fall by 0.1% in October.
There are two separate reports due on manufacturing, first up is
the Markit flash report due at 9 a.m. EST. The index rose to 51.8
in October, with any number above 50% signifying expansion.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing
conditions in the bank's region is seen retreating a second
straight month, to 14.5 from 19.8 in October, according to
economists polled by MarketWatch. The report is due at 10 a.m.
EST.
Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is due to speak on
financial reform at 9:45 a.m. EST, and Richmond Fed President
Jeffrey Lacker will speak on the economic outlook at 12:30 p.m.
EST.
Weaker data out of Europe and China weighed on those respective
markets.
The European data initially also weighed on stock futures. The
French purchasing managers index showed growth slowing, while in
Germany, the PMI number rose to a 29-month high, leaving Europe
stocks mixed. Chinese manufacturing activity showed a deceleration,
which hit Hong Kong stocks.
Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday after minutes of the latest
Fed meeting showed the central bank was on track to slowing its
bond-buying program. The S&P 500 stretched a losing streak to
three sessions.
Goldman Sachs said in a research note published Wednesday it
sees a 67% chance of the S&P 500 falling 10% at one point
during 2014. But Goldman stuck to its expectations for the index to
end the year at 1,900.
Gold prices remained weaker on Thursday amid tapering worries,
while oil prices were largely flat and the dollar continued to push
higher.
On the corporate front, Target is projected to report
third-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share, according to a
consensus survey by FactSet.
Abercrombie & Fitch is likely to post earnings of 44 cents a
share in the third quarter, while Dollar Tree is expected to report
earnings of 60 cents a share in the third quarter.
Write to Barbara Kollmeyer at bkollmeyer@marketwatch.com