U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s jobless claims data for the week. This data, to be released at 8:30 AM EST, is expected to show that initial claims for state unemployment benefits grew by 3,000 to 265,000 claims compared to 262,000 claims a week earlier.
Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures gained 0.08% each while Nasdaq futures climbed by a marginal 0.03%. Another underlying influence on investor behavior is the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. “The July FOMC minutes indicated that participants thought that ‘at some point’ it would likely become appropriate to slow the pace of hiking while assessing the impact from tighter financial conditions”, Goldman Sachs remarked.
Multiple stocks have rallied after data indicated that inflation in July would be lower than expected. Nasdaq surged 22% following its mid-June lows, while the S&P 500 gained 17%.
Retailer Kohl’s Corp was unable to jump on this positive trend, instead declining by 7.5% after reducing its full-year sales and profit forecasts. Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder Cos Inc slipped by 1.6% as its revised full-year sales forecast fell short of estimates.