Traders May Make Another Attempt At Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside after ending yesterday's volatile session mostly lower.

The upward momentum on Wall Street comes on the heels of four-day losing streaks for the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which have fallen to their lowest levels in almost two months.

Traders may once again look to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the recent weakness, although recent bargain hunting efforts have been thwarted by ongoing concerns the Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates until later in the year.

Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before eventually ending the day mostly lower. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 extended their losing streaks to four days, falling to their lowest closing levels in nearly two months.

The major averages all finished the day red, although the Dow posted a relatively modest loss, edging down 45.66 points or 0.1 percent to 37,753.31. The S&P 500 slid 29.20 points or 0.6 percent to 5,022.21 and the Nasdaq tumbled 181.88 points or 1.2 percent to 15,683.37.

Weakness among technology stocks weighed on the markets, as reflected by the notable slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) came under pressure as the day progressed, with the AI darling plunging by 3.9 percent to its lowest closing level in well a month.

The drop by Nvidia came as semiconductor stocks broadly came under pressure following disappointing first quarter sales by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML (ASML).

Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dove by 3.3 percent to a nearly two-month closing low.

The lower close on Wall Street also came amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Tuesday's remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

During a moderated discussion with Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, Powell suggested rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

The Fed chief's remarks came as recent data showing sticky inflation along with continued economic strength have led to reduced expectations of a rate cut in June.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the chances of a 25 basis point rate cut in June have tumbled to 16.4 percent compared to 55.2 percent just a week ago.

Airline stocks bucked the downtrend, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.8 percent after ending Tuesday's session at a two-month closing low.

United Airlines (UAL) led the sector higher, skyrocketing by 17.5 percent reporting a much narrower than expected first quarter loss.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.41 to $82.28 a barrel after plunging $2.67 to $82.69 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after slumping $19.40 to$2,388.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $9.40 to $2,397.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.40 yen versus the 154.39 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0661 compared to yesterday's $1.2454.

Asia

Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday, as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields retreated from recent highs and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., the world's largest producer of advanced processors, clocked a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on strong AI chip demand.

The result contrasted Wednesday's disappointing earnings from chipmaking supplier ASML.

Investors slashed Fed rate-cut bets and waited to see how Israel will respond to the Iranian attack.

China's Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally higher at 3,074.22, giving up some early gains as fund manager Allspring Global said in a note that valuations call for a substantial rally in Chinese shares.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 0.8 percent to 16,385.87, led by heavyweight insurers, casino operators and banks.

Japanese stocks eked out modest gains after an unusual trilateral agreement between the U.S., Japan and Korea to consult closely on foreign exchange.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3 percent to 38,079.70, gaining for the first time in four sessions. The broader Topix Index settled 0.5 percent higher at 2,677.45, led by banks and chip-sector shares.

Advantest surged 5.1 percent, Concordia Financial Group jumped 4.8 percent and Chiba Bank rallied 3.5 percent.

Seoul stocks spiked, with the Kospi spiking 2.0 percent to 2,634.70 after four consecutive sessions of declines. Chipmaker SK Hynix rose 2 percent, while battery makers LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI rallied 3.4 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Australian stocks closed higher after five sessions of losses. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent to 7,642.10, with miners and banks leading the way higher. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended 0.5 percent higher at 7,898.90.

Investors shrugged off weak labor market data, which showed the unemployment rate in the country rose slightly to 3.8 percent in March.

Europe

European stocks have moved modestly higher on Thursday as soft eurozone inflation data for March booted hopes for an ECB rate cut in June.

"Talking about the June meeting, I think the probability is increasing that we will see a rate cut in June but there are still some caveats," the chief of Germany's Bundesbank told CNBC's Karen Tso at the IMF Spring Meetings on Wednesday.

Geopolitical risk is the biggest threat to a prospective rate cut from the European Central Bank, according to ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann.

On a light day on the economic front, the European Central Bank reported earlier today that the euro area current account surplus decreased to a 3-month low in February.

The current account surplus dropped to 29.0 billion euros in February from 39.0 billion euros in January. This was the lowest surplus since November last year.

While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

ABB shares have jumped after the Swiss engineering firm reported higher Operational EBITA in its first quarter and sounded optimistic about faster revenue growth in 2024.

easyJet has also moved sharply higher after the airline forecast a smaller-than-expected winter loss.

Danone has also advanced in Paris. The maker of Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Aptamil backed its full-year outlook after posting stronger-than-expected quarterly sales.

Meanwhile, Finnish telecom company Nokia fell has moved to the downside after its first-quarter operating profit missed expectations.

Mining giant BHP has also moved lower after third-quarter iron ore production fell 7 percent. Gold miner Centamin has also slumped after its first quarter production came in slightly below expectations.

German lab supplies maker Sartorius has plunged after first quarter order intake and revenue missed analyst expectations.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech has also plummeted after the company reported net profit of 56 million euros for the first quarter, significantly lower than 111 million euros in the same quarter a year ago, primarily due to lower sales revenue.

U.S. Economic Reports

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits remained flat in the week ended April 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 212,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also came in unchanged from the previous week's revised average at 214,500.

A separate report released by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed growth in regional manufacturing has unexpectedly seen a considerable acceleration in the month of April.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity jumped to 15.5 in April from 3.2 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 1.5.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said most future activity indicators declined but continue to suggest that firms expect growth over the next six months.

At 9:05 am ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is scheduled to give opening remarks before a virtual 2024 New York Fed Regional and Community Banking Conference.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to participate in a moderated discussion before the Semafor World Economy Summit at 9:15 am ET.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of March. Economists expect existing home sales to pull back to an annual rate of 4.20 million in March after surging to a rate of 4.38 million in February.

The Conference Board is also due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of March at 10 am ET. The leading economic index is expected to come in unchanged in March after inching up by 0.1 percent in February.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month's auction of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is due to speak on the economic outlook in a moderated armchair chat before the Prosperity Partnership Fort Lauderdale Meeting at 5:45 pm ET.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the homebuilder reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

E-commerce giant eBay (EBAY) is also likely to see initial strength after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Overweight from Underweight.

On the other hand, shares of Etsy (ETSY) may come under pressure after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the online craft marketplace's stock to Underweight from Equal Weight.