WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of
direction following the rally seen over the course of the previous session.

Traders may take a step back to assess the outlook for the markets following
yesterday's surge, which lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing
highs.

Trepidation ahead of Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report may also keep
some traders on the sidelines, as the data could have a significant impact on
the outlook for interest rates.

The Labor Department report is expected to show employment increased by 185,000
jobs in May after climbing by 175,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate
is expected to remain at 3.9 percent.

A day ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department
released a report this morning showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment
benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended June 1st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 229,000, an increase
of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 221,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 219,000
originally reported for the previous week.

Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday,
adding to the modest gains posted during Tuesday's session. With the rally on
the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 saw further upside going into the close, reaching new
highs for the session. The Nasdaq surged 330.86 points or 2.0 percent to
17,187.90 and the S&P 500 jumped 62.69 points or 1.2 percent to 5,354.03, while
the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 96.04 points or 0.3 percent
to 38,807.33.

The surge by the Nasdaq came as tech stocks continued to take their cues from
Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI darling soared by 5.2 percent to a new record closing
high.

Last month, Nvidia announced a ten-for-one stock split, with holders of the
company's common stock as of the close of trading on Thursday set receive nine
additional shares.

The advance by Nvidia contributed to strength in the broader semiconductor
sector, resulting in a 4.5 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor
Index.

Semiconductor equipment manufacturers Applied Materials (AMAT) and KLA Corp.
(KLAC) also posted standout gains after Barclays upgraded its rating on the
stocks to Equal-Weight from Underweight.

Computer hardware stocks are also saw substantial strength on the day, driving
the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 3.4 percent.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) skyrocketed by 12.0 percent after the
technology company reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst
estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Networking, software and biotechnology stocks also saw notable strength, while
gold, housing and airline stocks turned in some of the best performances outside
the tech sector.

The strength on Wall Street also came as a report from payroll processor ADP
showing private sector job growth in the U.S. slowed by more than expected in
the month of May added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 152,000 jobs in May after jumping
by a downwardly revised 188,000 jobs in April.

Economists had expected private sector employment to increase by 173,000 jobs
compared to the addition of 192,000 jobs originally reported for the previous
month.

Treasury yields moved lower following the release of the jobs data, with the
ten-year yield falling to its lowest levels in two months.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a separate report from the Institute for
Supply Management showing service sector activity returned to growth in the
month of May after contracting in April for the first time since December 2022.

The ISM said its services PMI jumped to 53.8 in May from 49.4 in April, with a
reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected the
index to inch up to 50.8.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the services PMI reached its
highest level since hitting 54.1 in August 2023.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.61 to $74.68 a barrel after climbing $0.82 to
$74.07 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after jumping $28.10 to $2,375.50 an
ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $1.90 to $2,377.40 an
ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.14 yen versus the
156.11 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0884 compared to yesterday's $1.0869.

Asia

Asian stock moved mostly higher on Thursday following broadly positive cues from
global markets overnight amid optimism about the outlook for U.S. interest
rates.

Expectations the European Central Bank will announce an interest rate cut later
in the day also contributed to the positive sentiment in the region.

Recouping some of the losses in the two previous sessions, Japanese stocks moved
to the upside on the day. The Nikkei 225 Index reached a high above the 39,000
level before giving back ground and ending the day up 213.34 points or 0.6
percent at 38,703.51.

Australian stocks also moved notably higher, adding to the gains in the previous
session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 52.80 points or 0.7 percent to
7,821.80, with gains across most sectors led by gold miners and technology
stocks.

Despite paring some gains after a bright start and a subsequent move up north,
Indian stocks stayed positive throughout the session to end on a firm note.
Strong gains posted by IT majors and PSU heavyweight State Bank of India,
contributed significantly to market's firm close.

The BSE benchmark Sensex ended with a gain of 692.27 points or 0.9 percent at
75,074.51, about 225 points off the day's high of 75,297.73. The broader Nifty50
index of the National Stock Exchange advanced 201.05 points or 0.9 percent to
22,821.40.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also rose 51.84 points or 0.3 percent to 18,476.80,
while China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the uptrend in the region and fell
16.61 points or 0.5 percent to 3,048.79. The South Korea market was closed for
the Memorial Day holiday.

Europe

European stocks have moved moderately higher on Thursday following the European
Central Bank's widely expected decision to lower key interest rates by 25 basis
points each.

While the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up
by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent.

The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, cut the main
refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent. The deposit facility rate
was lowered from a record high to 3.75 percent and the marginal lending rate was
reduced to 4.50 percent.

'Based on an updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of
underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission, it is now
appropriate to moderate the degree of monetary policy restriction after nine
months of holding rates steady,' the ECB said.

Among the economic releases, data from Eurostat revealed Eurozone retail sales
fell more than expected in May. Retail sales posted a monthly decrease of 0.5
percent in April, in contrast to the revised 0.7 percent increase in March.
Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent drop.

Meanwhile, the U.K. construction sector logged its fastest growth in two years
in May, with activity and new orders increasing at sharper rates, as per the
survey results from S&P Global. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index
unexpectedly rose to 54.7 in May from 53.0 in April.

The latest HCOB survey compiled by S&P Global showed the German construction
sector continued to contract in May on sharp decreases in total industry
activity and new orders.

Switzerland's unemployment rate remained stable in May after falling slightly in
the previous month, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said.
The unadjusted unemployment rate came in at 2.3 percent in May, the same as in
April.

Further, data from Germany's statistical office Destatis showed factory orders
in the country unexpectedly fell in April, largely due to a sharp contraction in
orders for other transport equipment.

In the corporate news, digital fashion retailer N Brown Group Plc has moved
sharply higher after reporting a profit in its fiscal 2024, despite prior year's
loss, and weak revenues. The company also projects trading improvement in fiscal
2025.

Hargreaves Services plc shares have also moved to the upside after the company
said it expects to report a fiscal 2024 profit before tax marginally ahead of
market expectations.

U.S. Economic Reports

A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the
Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for
U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended June
1st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 229,000, an increase
of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 221,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 219,000
originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down
to 222,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of
223,000.

The Commerce Department also released a report on Thursday showing the U.S.
trade deficit widened significantly in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit surged to $74.6 billion in April
from a downwardly revised $68.6 billion in March.

Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $76.1 billion from the $69.4
billion originally reported for the previous month.

The increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of imports
jumped by 2.4 percent to $338.2 billion, while the value of exports climbed by
0.8 percent to $263.7 billion.

Meanwhile, revised data released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed U.S.
labor productivity increased by slightly less than expected in the first quarter
of 2024.

The Labor Department said labor productivity crept up by 0.2 percent in the
first quarter compared to the previously reported 0.3 percent increase.
Economists had expected the uptick in productivity to be downwardly revised to
0.1 percent.

The report said the surge in unit labor costs in the first quarter was also
downwardly revised to 4.0 percent from the previously reported 4.7 percent. Unit
labor costs were expected to spike by an upwardly revised 4.9 percent.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of
this month's auctions of three-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds.



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