Dados para hoje nos EUA: Economy on the mind

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Economy on the mind

Futures point to mixed open ahead of economic updates on housing and weekly jobs data.

June 23, 2005: 6:35 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. futures signaled a mixed open on Wall Street on Thursday as investors await the latest readings on the nation's housing activity and the weekly jobs report.

Early Thursday, stock futures pointed to a mixed start for stocks.

In economic news, at 8:30 A.M. ET, investors will be delivered the latest weekly numbers on jobless claims. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment dropped by 3,000 last week to 330,000.


At 10:00, investors will also get the latest update on the health of the nation's housing activity. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect May existing home sales fell to a 7.15 million unit annual rate from a 7.18 million unit annual rate in April.

Oil prices traded higher on Thursday after a two-day retreat. U.S. light crude was up 35 cents to $58.44 a barrel, staying within sight of $60 a barrel a day after U.S. oil inventory data showed demand in the world's largest energy consumer was strong in spite of higher costs.

Treasury prices fell slightly, sending the yield on the 10-year note up to 3.97 percent from 3.94 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar was stronger against the yen and the euro.

Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, while major European markets gained in early trading.

Stocks struggled for direction Wednesday as escalating oil prices continued to burden investor sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average lost a few points while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were both near unchanged at the close of the session.

On the earnings docket, FedEx (Research) is expected to report fourth-quarter results before the opening bell. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.48 a share for the period, up 11 percent from a year ago.

In corporate news, Chinese state run oil firm CNOOC (Research) offered to buy Unocal (Research) late Wednesday for $18.5 billion, in a bid to trump Chevron (Research)'s more than $16 billion deal to acquire the smaller U.S. oil producer.