Stocks May Move Back To The Downside In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After seeing substantial volatility over the course of the two previous sessions, stocks may move moderately lower in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 56 points.

Uncertainty about the situation in Greece may weigh on Wall Street following yesterday's mixed comments regarding the embattled nation's negotiations with its creditors.

While Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras told reporters his government is close to an agreement to secure funding from its lenders, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the two sides still have a ways to go.

The outcome of a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Dresden today and tomorrow could shed more light on how Greece's international creditors seek to end the impasse.

The downward momentum on Wall Street also comes on the heels of a sell-off in China, as the Shanghai Composite Index plummeted by 6.5 percent.

The weakness was seen as a reaction to announcements by several brokers concerning tightening requirements on margin financing ahead of an IPO influx next week.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department recently released a report showing an unexpected uptick in initial jobless claims in the week ended May 23rd.

The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 282,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 275,000.

The modest increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to dip to 270,000 from the 274,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Among individual stocks, shares of Costco (COST) are moving lower in pre-market trading after the warehouse retailer reported fiscal third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but on weaker than expected sales.

Poultry producer Sanderson Farms (SAFM) could also see early weakness after reporting weaker than expected fiscal second quarter earnings.

On the other hand, shares of Express (EXPR) are likely to move to the upside after the apparel retailer reported first quarter results that exceeded estimates and raised its full-year guidance.

Camera maker GoPro (GRPO) may also see early strength after the company revealed it is getting into the drone and virtual reality business.

Following the sell-off seen on Tuesday, stocks showed a substantial rebound over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq more than offset the previous session's loss to reach a new record closing high.

The major averages all closed firmly positive, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq surged up 73.84 points or 1.5 percent to 5,106.59, while the Dow climbed 121.45 points or 0.7 percent to 18,162.99 and the S&P 500 advanced 19.28 points or 0.9 percent to 2,123.48.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.18 to $57.33 a barrel after retreating $0.52 to $57.51 a barrel on Wednesday. The most actively traded gold futures for August delivery, which fell $1.30 to $1,186.50 an ounce in the previous session, are inching up $0.30 to $1,186.80 an ounce.

Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 124.24 yen compared to the 123.66 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0890 compared to yesterday's $1.0904.