Friday, 23 June 2017

Wall Street futures mixed; FOMC speakers eyed

Posted by Anonymous at 16:02 Labels:

Wall Street indexes were set for a mixed open on Friday, with market players focusing into upcoming economic data and the dynamics of oil prices.

On Thursday, US stock indexes ended mixed, with healthcare contributing the most gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was down by 10 points, while the S&P 500 hovered around breakeven. The Nasdaq composite added 0.04 percent.

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: -12.74 / -0.06% / 21397.29
  • Standard & Poor’s 500: -1.11 / -0.05% / 2434.50
  • Nasdaq Composite: 2.73 / 0.04% / 6236.69

Healthcare stocks advanced more than 1 percent during the session after Republicans released a draft of its bill aimed to repeal and replace Obamacare.

According to the bill, health insurance companies would continue to receive reimbursements from the government for at least two years. The reform includes deep cuts to Medicaid, which covers 70 million citizens around the country. The Senate is expected to vote on it next week.

Meanwhile, investors closely monitored oil prices rebound on Thursday. WTI crude contracts for August delivery added 0.49 percent in the session to end around $42.74 a barrel. Since the oil turn earlier this year, oil prices have fallen more than 20 percent.

Market players are worried that OPEC-led output cuts wouldn’t be able to halt the ongoing supply overhang that has been weighing on prices for almost two years. In this regard, attention today will be directed to the weekly US oil rig count from Baker Hughes at 17:00 GMT.

In economic news, initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 241,000 against an initially estimated 2,000 build. Last week, applications moved to 238,000, also rising more than expected.

On the data front today, manufacturing and services PMIs for June are due for release as of 13:45 GMT, with 53.0 and 53.7 seen. New home sales for May are scheduled at 14:00 GMT, with an expected rise of 5.4 percent.

Investors will also be paying attention to a final series of FOMC speakers this week, including Bullard, Mester and Powell coming at 15:15 GMT, 16:40 GMT and 18:15 GMT respectively.

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