MARKET SNAPSHOT: S&P 500 Poised To Ride Higher On Financial Wave, But Nasdaq Signals A Turn Lower

Blue Apron shares set to make trading debut

Bank shares look likely to lift the S&P 500 at the open Thursday, but the Nasdaq-100 is poised to pull back after logging a big one-day gain, U.S. stock futures indicate.

In Europe and Asia, financial shares logged gains after the U.S.'s 34 biggest banks passed the Federal Reserve's stress test.

Later, investors will get an update on the labor market and a final reading on first-quarter economic growth.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 26 points, or 0.1%, to 21,247.00 , and S&P 500 futures picked up 3.1 points, or 0.1%, to 2,441.50. But Nasdaq-100 futures shed 7.25 points, or 0.1%, to 5,756.25.

On Wednesday, a surge in financial and tech shares (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasdaq-poised-for-third-day-of-losses-as-us-stock-futures-sag-2017-06-28)carried Wall Street's main benchmarks higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasdaq-poised-for-third-day-of-losses-as-us-stock-futures-sag-2017-06-28). The Nasdaq Composite Index moved up 87.79 points, or 1.4%, to 6,234, its largest one-day gain since Nov. 7.

At the same time, the S&P 500 marked its biggest one-day gain in more than a month as it tacked on 21.31 points, or 0.9%, to end at 2,440.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped triple digits, up 143.95 points, or 0.7%, to 21,454.61.

Financials on the S&P 500 jumped 1.6% and the SPDR Financial ETF (XLF) climbed 1.5% premarket, after the Federal Reserve late Wednesday released results from its stress tests (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/06/28/fed-stress-test-and-bank-capital-return-plans-live-blog/). The Fed determined the country's biggest banks (KBE) have "strong" levels of capital and would be able to keep lending even during a severe recession.

All 34 of the financial-service firms tested passed their so-called stress test and received green lights for plans to return capital to shareholders.

(https://twitter.com/MKTWgoldstein/status/880170257528258560)

Bonds shadow central banks: Financial shares have also been tracking a rally in long-term Treasury yields . Investors continued to sell U.S. and European bonds on Thursday, sending yields higher, as investors maneuvered around potential moves by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

"Comments from central bankers in recent days suggest that perhaps it will not be too long before the Fed is joined by other central banks in tightening monetary policy," said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets.

"In recent days, there have been hawkish indications from the ECB's Draghi, the Bank of England's Carney and Bank of Canada's Poloz, all of which have signalled a potential end to their easing programs could be close," he noted.

Buck under pressure: The ICE Dollar Index , which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.2% at 95.85.

"Playing currencies is a game of relatives, and with traders questioning the Fed's ability to tighten in light of subdued inflation, the dollar is under pressure," said Perry.

Both the euro and the pound have marched higher against the greenback, he noted.

The weaker dollar was seen as giving a boost to some dollar-denominated commodities, such as oil and copper, on Thursday. Those moves could aid resource-related stocks on Wall Street.

Economic docket: A report on weekly jobless claims from the Labor Department is due at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect an increase to 243,000 claims from 241,000 in the prior week.

At the same time, the final print of first-quarter gross domestic product is expected to arrive. In May, the growth rate was revised higher to 1.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-wasnt-as-bad-as-it-looked-in-first-quarter-gdp-shows-2017-05-26).

See: MarketWatch's economic calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic).

A busy week of Fed speakers rounds off with James Bullard in London. The St. Louis Fed President is scheduled to talk about the economy and monetary policy at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. He is not on the Fed's current rate-setting board.

Stocks in focus: Blue Apron Holdings Inc.'s is set to begin trading after its initial public offering priced at $10 a share late Wednesday, on the low end of its estimate, valuing the meal-kit delivery company at $1.9 billion. Read:Why Blue Apron's valuation just got slashed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-blue-aprons-valuation-just-got-slashed-2017-06-28)

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.(WBA) and Rite Aid Corp.(RAD) are slated to release quarterly results ahead of bell, as are Constellation Brands Inc.(STZ) and Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG)

Other markets: Copper prices were aided by the dollar's pullback, but gold was modestly lower. Oil prices were rising, with the dollar rally and a sizable weekly decline in U.S. crude production seen as factors.

Stock markets in Asia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/financial-stocks-lead-asian-market-gains-2017-06-28) logged gains, but European benchmarks were feeling the weight (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-step-lower-as-euro-rally-outweighs-gains-for-banks-miners-2017-06-29) of a rising euro.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2017 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)