Wall Street Unsettled After Recent Gains As Data Deluge Looms

(RTTNews) - Trading in the U.S. index futures suggests that Wall Street stocks may open Thursday's session on a nervous note. After Asian stocks closed a lackluster session mostly higher, the European markets are also holding up. Buoyancy in the commodity space may lent support even as traders look ahead to some key economic data on durable goods orders, jobless claims and pending home sales and a Fed speech scheduled for the day.

As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are moving up 21 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 1 point and the Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 5 points.

U.S. stocks advanced solidly on Wednesday, ending at near 1-month highs, aided by buying triggered by the news of a Greek bailout deal.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department is set to release its report on durable goods orders for April at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect durable goods orders to have increased by 0.3 percent month-over-month in April following a 0.8 percent increase in April.

Also at 8:30 am ET, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its jobless claims report for the week ended 21st. The consensus estimate calls for claims to have fallen to 275,000 from 278,000 in the previous week.

The National Association of Realtors will release its pending home sales index for April at 10 am ET. Economists expect pending home sales to have increased by 0.8 percent month-over-month in April, slower than the 1.4 percent increase in March.

Kansas City Federal Reserve is due to release its regional manufacturing index for May at 11 am ET. In April, the index was at -4.

Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell will speak on the economy and monetary policy in Washington at 12:15 pm ET.

The Treasury is scheduled to announce the results of its auction of 7-year notes at 1 pm ET.

In major corporate news, HP (HPQ) reported better than expected second quarter non-GAAP earnings, helped by cost cuts, while its revenues fell year-over-year. The company's third quarter and full year guidance is lackluster.

PVH (PVH) reported better than expected first quarter non-GAAP earnings and higher revenues. The company raised its full year non-GAAP earnings per share guidance.

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) reported better than expected first quarter non-GAAP earnings per share and its revenues rose year. The company's full year guidance is in line.

Guess (GES) reported a wider than expected loss for its first quarter and its revenues declined 6 percent. The company's second quarter guidance is weak.

Costco (COST) reported better than expected third quarter earnings, while its sales missed estimates.

Sanofi (SNY) announced that a FDA Committee has recommended approval of the NSA for its fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin glargine 100 units/ml and GLP-1 receptor against lixisenatide for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

TD Ameritrade (AMTD) announced that its CEO Fred Tomczyk intends to sell up to 100,000 shares of the company's common stock, representing less than 5 percent of his total holding. Donaldson (DCI) announced a 2.9 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

Asian stocks ended a choppy session mostly higher, as gains in oil prices and positive cues from overseas markets outweighed concerns about a slowdown in Chinese growth and prospects of higher interest rates in the U.S. 

The yen saw a sudden spike on the eve of G7 summit talks, with leaders of the world's seven major industrial democracies expected to promote monetary, fiscal and structural policies to spur growth in their communique, when the summit ends on Friday. 

Japanese shares ended flat as an early rally fizzled out amid the yen's strength. The Nikkei average closed up 15.11 points or 0.09 percent at 16,773 after climbing more than 1 percent in early trade.

Australian shares ended a choppy session modestly higher as gains in the mining sector offset weakness among consumer staples stocks. The All Ordinaries index gained 15.10 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 5,452.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite rose 0.26 percent to end above the key 2,800 level, with energy shares leading the rebound. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index inched up 29.06 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 20,397.11.

Investors shrugged off sluggish capex data, which showed that Australian business investment fell by 5.2 percent in the March quarter, much worse than forecasts for a 3.5 percent decline, after a 0.8 percent increase in the previous three months.

After seeing choppiness in early trading, European stocks are modestly higher heading into the mid-session. Higher oil prices are boosting the commodity space.

On a relatively light day on the economic front, official data showed that the U.K. economy expanded as initially estimated in the first quarter, GDP grew 0.4 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, unrevised from the estimate published on April 27. On an annual basis, GDP climbed 2 percent instead of 2.1 percent estimated previously.