US pre-open: Futures in the green ahead of jobless report

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell as investors awaited key data points scheduled for release later in the day.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.14% and 0.19% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 48.2 points lower on Wednesday, extending modest losses recorded in the prior session as market participants digested a number of major data points.

Thursday's primary focus will be jobless claims numbers from the Department of Labor at 1330 BST, with economists expecting to see initial claims fall from 353,000 to 345,000. Traders will thumb over the report for any potential hints as to how tomorrow's big August jobs report, which could show how fast the Federal Reserve will remove easy monetary policy, might play out.

Also in focus, OPEC+ agreed to stick to its initial plan of enhancing its oil supply by 400,000 barrels per day per month, gradually eliminating its unprecedented supply reductions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it did raise its demand forecast for 2022 amid pressure from the Biden administration to ramp up production.

AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "Stock futures in the United States and Europe are lower today, following the release of ADP's job report yesterday. According to the data, the labor market recovery in the United States is taking longer than expected.

"As a result, investor sentiment was mixed in yesterday's session, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rising while the Dow fell. It is worth noting that Nasdaq, the tech-savvy index, closed yesterday's session at an all-time high as investors shifted to defensive stocks."

On the macro front, July trade balance figures will be released at 1330 BST, as will last week's jobless claims numbers, while July's factor orders report will follow at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, chipmaker Broadcom will report earnings after the close of trading.