Stock futures fall on Fed's recovery concerns
Traders will get reports on jobless claims and manufacturing
U.S. equity futures are trading lower the day after the minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting laid out challenges for the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The major futures indexes are suggesting a decline of 0.3% when the Thursday trading session begins.
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In the Fed's minutes, policy makers are finding it difficult to forecast the path of the economy, which will depend on what happens with the virus.
The central bank has been one of the main pillars propping up the market after it slashed short-term interest rates to their record low and promised to buy as many bonds as it takes to keep markets running smoothly.
FED OFFICIALS WORRIED ABOUT WITHDRAWAL OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT, MINUTES SHOW
Traders will get the latest reading on the economy through the weekly jobless claims report. The Labor Department is expected to say the number of claims for unemployment benefits declined for the third week in a row to 925 thousand. That would be down from 963 thousand the prior week, which was the lowest since the week ending March 4 and the first reading below 1 million since the coronavirus lockdowns went into effect in mid-March.
In Europe, London's FTSE is down 1.1%, Germany's DAX is falling by 0.9% and France's CAC was losing 1.2%.
In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei dropped 1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.5% and China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.3%.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 3,374.85, a day after it wiped out the last of its losses created by the pandemic and surpassed its Feb. 19 peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gave up an earlier gain, falling 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38494.88 | +254.90 | +0.67% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5071.57 | +60.97 | +1.22% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15716.098951 | +264.79 | +1.71% |
Investors still believe the U.S. Congress and the White House will reach a deal to deliver more aid to the economy after federal unemployment benefits and other stimulus expired.
In the latest accolade for Big Tech, Apple's total market value briefly topped $2 trillion, the first time a U.S. company has crossed that threshold.
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Benchmark U.S. crude lost 48 cents to $42.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 4 cents to $42.93 per barrel Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.