U.S. markets set for a slightly lower open
Wall Street looks poised for a mildly lower start on Thursday after all the major stock indices finished in the green territory in the previous session.
Traders will keep a close eye on GameStop (NYSE: GME) and other popular meme stocks as the Reddit trading frenzy that engulfed the stocks earlier this year returns.
Shares in GameStop ended Wednesday’s session with a gain of $33.24, or 15.88% to $242.56 while AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) closed 19.2% higher to $19.56.
On the earnings front, reports are expected from Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock rose less than a percent in pre-market trading after the chipmaker reported upbeat first-quarter results.
By 5:35 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow dropped 30.5 points, or 0.09% to 34,249.5. S&P 500 futures gave away 10.38 points, or 0.25% to 4,182.62 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 64.5 points, or 0.47% to 13,635.75.
Jobless claims data on tap
Meanwhile, unemployment claims data before the opening bell is expected to show the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell to 425,000 in the week ended May 22, down for the fourth straight time in what could be the latest evidence of U.S. worker shortage.
Jobless claims hit a fresh pandemic-era low of 444,000 during the previous week.
The data, which is due to at 8:30 a.m. ET, is also likely to show that continuing claims dropped 3.680 million in the week ended May 15 from 3.751 million in the prior week.
A second reading of the first-quarter GDP number is also due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
U.S., China top officials hold ‘candid’ trade talks
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He have held “candid, pragmatic and constructive” trade talks, according to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday morning.
It’s the first time the two sides have made contact over their ongoing trade spat since President Joe Biden came to power.
The U.S. side said that during an “introductory virtual meeting,” Tai talked about “the guiding principles of the Biden-Harris Administration’s worker-centered trade policy and her ongoing review of the US-China trade relationship, while also raising issues of concern.”
Washington and Beijing have been embroiled in a bitter trade war that was started by former President Donald Trump in 2018.