Futures ease off from trade optimism-fueled jump

[December 13, 2018]   By Medha Singh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday, easing from gains earlier in the session, with investors increasingly taking a wait-and-see approach as the United States and China make progress on resolving their bitter trade dispute.

The benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> enjoyed its best one-day percentage gain in 10 days on Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump's upbeat comments on the ongoing negotiations with China and Beijing's first major purchase of U.S. soybeans in months.

But after rising nearly 2 percent, the S&P ended Wednesday with a gain of just 0.5 percent, though the pullback was not as volatile as the swings in the first two days of the week.

Trading has been especially choppy in the past few days, with stocks testing their 2018 lows multiple times, amid a slew of headlines on topics ranging from China trade and a potential U.S. government shutdown to uncertainty around Britain's divorce from the European Union.

Traders caution that while the market might stay above the 2018 lows it would likely continue to be volatile at least until a U.S.-China negotiating deadline at the end of February.

"There has been a lack of confidence in the progression of trade talks between the U.S. and China," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

"And until things clear up, this volatility or choppiness in the market is going to remain with us."

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

At 7:39 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 2.25 points, or 0.08 percent, after gaining as much as 0.69 percent earlier.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 17.75 points, or 0.26 percent, while Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down just 1 point.

Among stocks, shares of General Electric Co <GE.N> jumped nearly 11 percent in premarket trading after long-time bear JP Morgan upgraded the industrial conglomerate's shares to "neutral".

Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> and PepsiCo Inc <PEP.O> dipped slightly after UBS started coverage with "neutral" ratings.

On the economic calendar, the Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT) is expected to show initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 8 dropped to 225,000 from 231,000 the week before.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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