By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures moved north on
Thursday, as neither downbeat Chinese data nor a perceived hawkish
set of Federal Reserve minutes swayed upbeat sentiment.
Friday's speech from Janet Yellen remains a market focus, and
the S&P 500 is within spitting distance of setting a fresh
record close.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 33
points to 16,982, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4)
added 2.9 points to 1,986.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
(NDU4) rose 3.75 points to 4,043.25.
Weekly jobless claims are coming at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A
trio of data is due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, the most closely
watched of which may be existing-home sales for July, which
economists expect to hold steady. Also out at that time: the
Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for August and leading
indicators for July.
With time to mull it over, investors appeared to further shrug
off the Fed minutes released Wednesday that showed some officials
arguing the groundwork should be laid for raising interest rates
sooner than expected. A Thursday report showing a three-month low
for Chinese factory data was also brushed aside.
Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at IG Markets, said the
Fed minutes mostly revealed officials had debated whether to raise
rates sooner than expected. "It's still unlikely that it's going to
be immediate and remains data dependent," she said in emailed
comments.
Wall Street closed modestly higher on Wednesday, with the
S&P 500 index (SPX) gaining less than 0.3% to end at 1,986.51.
The index logged its third straight day of gains and now sits just
0.07% off its record close of 1,987.98, hit July 24, though some
say record closes are a commonplace occurrence. Also read:
"All-time high" is the "we should talk" of the stock market.
Delusional investors? Kelly and other strategists said not much
will hold markets' attention ahead of Friday's speech from Fed
Chairwoman Yellen at Jackson Hole, Wyo. European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi will speak the same day.
"Markets are making hay while the sun shines -- possibly in a
delusional manner based on previous equity moves in the runup and
aftermath of the Jackson Hole symposium. Yellen, however, is not
Bernanke, and she may offer some surprises," said Kelly.
Individual stocks: Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) fell 5% after
posting a large loss and margins shrank.
Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) also reported premarket, but share were
nearly flat. The company was outbid in its offer for Family Dollar
Stores Inc. (FDO) by Dollar General Corp. (DG) last week. Also see
Dollar General says Family Dollar CEO rejected merger to save his
job
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) rose modestly after the technology
company's third-quarter profit fell, but beat forecasts late
Wednesday. Retailer Gap Inc. (GPS) will hug the spotlight after the
closing bell. What to look for
Follow the day's notable stock moves here.
Other markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.5% as investors
pushed aside a mixed bag of purchasing managers indexes and looked
to recent market weakness as a buying opportunity. The China data
wasn't overlooked in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index snapped a
four-session winning streak. Elsewhere, gold(GCZ4) was down more
than 1%, continuing to lose ground after the Fed minutes.
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