Richard Bernstein advises Deputy Chief Investment Officer Dan Suzuki on what to expect from the markets in the coming months.
U.S. stock futures are trading modestly higher ahead of Thursday’s session.
The main future indices suggest a 0.2% gain at the beginning of the Wall Street session.
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Traders will dissect a handful of economic reports that can influence trade.
The Labor Department will report on new claims for unemployment insurance last week. Note a drop from 17,000 in the previous week to 830,000. Continued claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers receiving benefits, are expected to drop to 4.7 million, the lowest since March 21.
ADP’S REPORT SHOWS THAT PRIVATE COMPANIES ADDED 174,000 JOBS IN JANUARY, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
At the same time, fourth quarter productivity and labor costs will be released. Economists consulted by Refinitiv predict that worker productivity fell 2.8% at the seasonally adjusted annual rate in the last quarter, after a 4.6% jump in the third quarter. Unit labor costs are expected to increase 4%, after falling 6.6% in the September quarter.
The Commerce Department will publish factory orders for December.
It will also be a very busy day for earnings, with healthcare being a big focus in the morning, when Cigna, AmerisourceBergen, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Quest Diagnostics report.
Consumer-facing names like Clorox, Hershey Yum Brands, Tapestry and Ralph Lauren will also be reported.
After the close, investors’ attention will turn to News Corp., Ford Motor, Activision Blizzard and Peloton, among others.
In Europe, London’s FTSE gained 0.1%, Germany’s DAX added 0.5% and France’s CAC rose 0.5%,
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%.
Wall Street ended with modest gains, with the S&P 500 advancing 3.86 points, or 0.1%, to 3,830.17, after oscillating between a 0.6% gain and a 0.3% loss. The small gain extended the benchmark winning streak to a third day.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 30723.6 | +36.12 | + 0.12% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3830.17 | +3.86 | + 0.10% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13610.543204 | -2.23 | -0.02% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36.12 points, or 0.1%, to 30,723.60. The high-tech Nasdaq fell 2.23 points, or less than 0.1%, to 13,610.54. The index was briefly above its historical record last week.
Investors continued to watch shares in companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which posted modest gains on Wednesday. GameStop rose 2.7% and AMC rose 14.7%. The shares were caught in a speculative frenzy by traders on online forums looking to inflict damage on the Wall Street hedge funds that bet the shares would fall.
THE GAMESTOP STOCK INCREASE DOES NOT MASK REALITY
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called a meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and others to discuss recent market volatility and determine “whether recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets” , White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
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In the energy trade, the US reference oil gained 46 cents, to $ 56.15 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 93 cents to $ 55.69 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 38 cents to $ 58.84 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.