Futures point to a negative start
U.S. stocks look set to open in the red on Thursday after slumping during the previous session after minutes released by the Federal Reserve showed policymakers had discussed the possibility of eventually starting to talk about scaling back its massive bond-buying program as growth and inflation accelerate.
“A number of participants suggested that if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the committee’s goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases,” the minutes the U.S. central bank’s April meeting said.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures lost 222 points, or 0.65% to 33,611. S&P 500 futures fell 24.38 points, or 0.59% to 4,087.12 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gave away 70.62 points, or 0.53% to 13,162.88.
Notable companies scheduled to release earnings today include Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY), Kohls (NYSE: KSS), Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST), Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), and Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL).
Jobless claims figures awaited
Traders will be keeping an eye on the latest unemployment claims data, which is slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. ET. Expectations are for initial jobless claims to come in at 450,000 for the week ended May 15.
The data comes amid reports that jobless Americans in at least 22 GOP-led states including Texas, Arizona and Ohio are set to see their payments drop by $300 each week or be wiped out completely as Republican governors try to force people to get back to work following a downbeat April jobs report.
Crude tumbles as Iranian president sounds optimistic over nuclear deal talks
In energy markets, crude futures were also trading lower this morning after Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani claimed that the diplomats holding talks in Vienna on renewing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran have decided to end all major sanctions on the country.
“All parties to the talks have agreed to lift all major sanctions on oil, petrochemicals, shipping, insurance, the central bank and so on,” news outlets quoted Rouhani as saying.
“We have taken the main step and discussed the details. The main agreement has been reached. There are issues we are discussing to reach a final agreement,” he added.
By 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 93 cents, or 1.47% to $62.42 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were at $65.60, down $1.06, or 1.59% a barrel.
