Initial jobless claims data in focus
U.S. stock futures were trading cautiously on Thursday morning, as market participants awaited the closely watched weekly jobless claims report due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists forecast that another record will be set by the number of unemployment benefits filed for the week ended April 4 because of layoffs caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
JPMorgan Chase projects that 7 million Americans sought benefits that week, exceeding last week’s staggering record of 6.6 million. Barclays and Deutsche Bank expect about 4.5 million claims.
As of 5:35 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures indicated a gain of 65.5 points, or 0.28% to 23,311.5. S&P 500 futures were up 2.75 points, or 0.1% to 2,737.75 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.25 points, or 0.08% to 8,183.5.
Eyes on OPEC+ decision
Crude futures soared early Thursday amid expectations that top oil producers will strike a deal to implement output cuts aimed at propping up prices that have slumped as a result of weak demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the ongoing price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia will hold a meeting via video conference on Thursday and are expected to announce a final decision on Friday.
Velandera Energy chief financial officer Manish Raj told MarketWatch that “the virtual meeting is merely a formality as the key decision makers, Saudi Arabia and Russia, have already had direct discussions in advance, and Saudi Arabia has already had side talks with its partners.”
By 5:35 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $1.46 a barrel, or 5.82% to $26.55. Global Brent crude futures gained $1.24 a barrel, or 3.78% to $34.08.
Disney Plus tops 50 million subscribers; stock jumps
Shares of Disney (NYSE: DIS) are surging after the entertainment behemoth announced on Wednesday that its Disney Plus video streaming service has now more than 50 million paid subscribers worldwide, a number that has risen significantly over that past two months.
The service had 28.6 million paid subscribers as of February 3, meaning it has signed up more than 21 million new subscribers in roughly two months.
Disney Plus launched in the United States late 2019 and is now available in more than a dozen countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Austria, India, and the United Kingdom.
As of this writing, Disney stock was up $6.76 a share, or 6.69% to $107.07 in premarket trading session Thursday.
