WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster
performance seen over the two previous sessions.

The futures had been pointing to a modestly lower open but regained ground
following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a much
bigger than expected increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment
benefits in the week ended May 4th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000
from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 208,000
originally reported for the previous week.

With the much bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their
highest level since hitting 234,000 in week ended August 26th.

The data may add to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will
lower interest rates in the coming months.

Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued, however, as traders express some
uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on
Wednesday, extending the lackluster performance seen during Tuesday's session.
Despite the choppy trading, the Dow closed higher for the sixth straight day,
reaching its best closing level in over a month.

The major averages eventually finished the day mixed. While the Dow climbed
172.13 points or 0.4 percent to 39,056.39, the S&P 500 edged down 0.03 points or
less than a tenth of a percent to 5,187.67 and the Nasdaq dipped 29.80 points or
0.2 percent to 16,302.76.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came amid lingering uncertainty about the
outlook for interest rates following Tuesday's remarks by Minneapolis Federal
Reserve President Neel Kashkari.

Kashkari suggested interest rates may need to remain at current levels for an
'extended period' and said he couldn't rule out another rate increase.

The Federal Reserve is still widely expected to lower rates sometime in the
third quarter, however, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating an
83.5 percent chance rates will be lower by September.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves amid another
relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front.

A report on weekly jobless claims may attract attention on Thursday, while the
University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer
sentiment in May on Friday.

Among individual stocks, shares of Uber Technologies (UBER) moved sharply lower
after the ride-hailing giant reported an unexpected first quarter loss on weaker
than expected booking revenue.

Cloud communications company Twilio (TWLO) also came under pressure after
reporting first quarter results that exceeded estimates but providing
disappointing second quarter revenue guidance.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing company Lyft (LYFT) showed a strong move the upside
after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both
the top and bottom lines.

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major
sectors showed only modest moves on the day.

Networking stocks showed a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE
Arca Networking Index climbing by 1.1 percent.

Arista Networks (ANET) helped lead the sector higher, surging by 6.5 percent
after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Tobacco and telecom stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while
biotechnology and commercial real estate stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.53 to $79.52 a barrel after climbing $0.61 to
$78.99 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after edging down $1.90 to $2,322.30 an
ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3 to $2,325.30 an
ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.64 yen versus the
155.53 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0753 compared to yesterday's $1.0748.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday, even as Chinese and Hong Kong
markets advanced on the back of strong trade data.

A cautious undertone prevailed as uncertainty over Fed rate cuts deepened, and
fighting and bombardment continued on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of
Rafah.

The dollar traded firm on hawkish Fed comments, while oil and gold prices saw
modest gains in Asian trading.

Mainland China and Hong Kong markets outperformed as customs office data showed
Chinese exports rebounded more than expected in April.

Exports advanced 1.5 percent on a yearly basis in April, faster than the 1.0
percent expected growth and reversing March's 7.5 percent decrease.

Imports posted an annual increase of 8.4 percent, which was also bigger than
economists' forecast of 5.4 percent.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.8 percent to 3,154.32, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.2 percent to 18,537.81.

Property stocks surged after Chinese megacity Hangzhou lifted all home purchase
curbs.

Japanese markets ended modestly lower, giving up early gains as the yen
stabilized following three days of decline on talk of intervention.

The country stands ready to deal with foreign exchange matters around the clock,
top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said today.

A summary of opinions at the Bank of Japan's April meeting showed board members
turned overwhelmingly hawkish.

Data showed Japan's real wages in March decreased for the 24th consecutive
month, bolstering the case for policymakers to not hike rates aggressively.

The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 0.3 percent at 38,073.98, while the broader
Topix Index settled 0.3 percent higher at 2,713.46. Sony, Toyota and Fast
Retailing all fell over 1 percent, while Nintendo rallied 3.5 percent.

Seoul stocks fell sharply due to lingering uncertainty over possible U.S. rate
cuts. The Kospi slumped 1.2 percent to 2,712.14 ahead of the release of key U.S.
CPI data next week. Naver, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell 1-2 percent.

Australian markets lost ground after Commonwealth Bank of Australia reported
lower profit in its third quarter.

Shares of the banking giant tumbled 2.2 percent, while the benchmark S&P ASX 200
Index ended 1.1 percent lower at 7,721.60. The broader All Ordinaries Index
closed down 1.0 percent at 7,994.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P NZX-50 Index slipped 0.3 percent
to 11,746.58.

Europe

European stocks are mostly higher during trading on Thursday after the the Bank
of England maintained its key policy rate for the sixth consecutive meeting on
Thursday.

The Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold the Bank Rate at 5.25 percent
again in a split vote. The current bank rate is the highest since early 2008.

While seven members judged that maintaining the rate at the current level was
warranted, Swati Dhingra and Dave Ramsden sought a quarter-point reduction at
the meeting.

While the German DAX Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100
Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, Spanish bank Sabadell has jumped after rival BBVA presented a
12.23 billion euro ($13.11 billion) hostile takeover offer directly to its
shareholders. BBVA shares plunged 6 percent.

Italian payments group Nexi has also surged after delivering
better-than-expected first-quarter results and launching a share buyback
program.

Oil services company John Wood Group has also moved to the upside after
confirming its FY24 and FY25 guidance.

BAE Systems has also risen. The arms, security and aerospace company backed its
FY24 outlook after delivering a strong performance so far this year.

Meanwhile, China-related luxury goods makers traded lower in Paris despite
Chinese imports surging past estimates and exports rising in line with
expectations in April.

U.S. Economic Reports

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected
in the week ended May 4th, according to a report released by the Labor
Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000
from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 208,000
originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept
up to 215,000, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of
210,250.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this
month's auction of $25 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.



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