Retail sales report, weekly jobless claims to keep investors' eyes on U.S. recovery.
June 12, 2003: 5:31 AM EDT
By Mark M. Meinero, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The economy recaptures Wall Street's attention Thursday as key reports on retail sales and employment are considered as the major indexes stand at their highest levels since about the same time last year.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, futures indicated an initial gain for the indexes.
The biggest report, coming before the opening bell, is May retail sales, a key gauge of consumer activity. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect to see no change in sales after a 0.1 percent decrease in April.
Also due before the open is the weekly report on initial jobless claims. That's expected to show a decline to 425,000 in the week ended June 7 from 442,000 in the prior week, still above the 400,000 benchmark considered to show economic weakness.
The government also releases its business inventories report for April, which is expected to show a 0.2 percent increase after rising 0.4 percent in March.
After the close, business software maker Oracle issues its quarterly results. Analysts surveyed by First Call expect the company to post a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 14 cents a share, matching the year-earlier level. Oracle's commentary will be closely watched as the company continues its unsolicited effort to acquire rival PeopleSoft for $5.1 billion.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates) shares were more than 1 percent higher.
For details of Wednesday's gains, click above
The Dow Jones industrial average starts the day at its highest point since last July, having gained 1.4 percent Wednesday on speculation of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut and some positive comments from AT&T (T: Research, Estimates). The Nasdaq composite index is at its highest point in more than a year following a 1.1 percent boost. (see chart for details)
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mostly higher; Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 0.3 percent. Drug stocks paced Europe's early advance.
Treasury prices advanced in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.20 percent from 3.22 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was little changed against the yen and euro.
Brent oil futures pulled back 17 cents to $27.70 a barrel in London, where gold was lower.
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