|
 * Worries over tension abroad had largely faded from Wall Street,
with major indexes seeing few negative days over the past two weeks
and both the Dow and S&P hitting records. However, the market has
been looking for direction, with daily moves small and trading
volume light.
* Bank stocks may be in focus after the Federal Bureau of
Investigation said it was investigating media reports that several
U.S. financial firms - including, according to sources, JPMorgan
Chase & Co - have been victims of recent cyber attacks.
* Ukraine accused Russia of mounting an invasion in the southeast of
the country in support of pro-Moscow separatist rebels. The
country's security and defense council said that the border town of
Novoazovsk and other parts of Ukraine's south-east had fallen under
the control of Russian forces.
* Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday Russian
forces had been "brought into Ukraine" and called an urgent meeting
of the security and defense council to decide the next steps to take
in the crisis.
* While few U.S. companies have heavy exposure to either country,
investors are worried about the potential fallout from any
escalation in tensions, including increased sanctions. An index of
major shares in Europe, which has much more exposure, fell 0.8
percent. If European growth is depressed by the conflict, that could
have an indirect impact on the United States.
* Russia's dollar-denominated RTS index slumped 3.3 percent. The
Market Vectors Russia Exchange-Traded Fund fell 2.7 percent to
$24.45 in premarket trading.
* S&P 500 e-mini futures fell 6 points and were below fair value, a
formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest
rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones
industrial average e-mini futures fell 49 points and Nasdaq 100
e-mini futures lost 11.75 points.
[to top of second column] |
* S&P 500 futures are indicating a drop of 0.3 percent, which would
represent the biggest one-day decline for the benchmark index since
Aug. 7. The index has risen for 11 of the past 14 sessions, and has
closed above 2,000 for the past two days. The Nasdaq 100 closed
higher for its 11th straight session on Wednesday, its longest
winning streak in about 14 months.
* Investors are also looking ahead to data on U.S. economic growth
on Thursday, as well as the labor and housing markets. Gross
domestic product is seen up 3.9 percent in the second quarter,
compared with the previous read of 4 percent.
* The GDP report is due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT), as are weekly
jobless claims, which are seen rising by 2,000 to 300,000 in the
latest week. Pending home sales data will be released at 10 a.m.,
with sales forecast to be up 0.5 percent.
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright
2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
