By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening higher Thursday amid rising optimism that the world’s largest economy will indeed benefit from some stimulus, although probably not via a large, all-encompassing bill.
At 7:10 AM ET (1110 GMT), S&P 500 Futures traded 13 points, or 0.4%, higher, the Dow Futures contract rose 127 points, or 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 64 points, or 0.4%.
Both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have indicated support for a smaller bill to help the airline industry specifically, even after Trump terminated talks over a larger stimulus package earlier this week.
Even though stand-alone legislation for airlines would fall far short of a comprehensive relief package, investors have still been buoyed by the idea of some support for the U.S. economy.
The need for additional stimulus has been the key point of the plethora of Fed speakers who have lined up to comment this week. This continues later Thursday, with both Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and his Dallas Fed equivalent Robert Kaplan scheduled to speak.
Economic data are likely to back them up, with initial jobless claims expected to show 820,000 new filings from last week, fewer than the week before, but still indicative of a stagnating recovery. Continuing jobless claims are expected to come in around 11.4 million. Both numbers are due for release at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).
In the corporate sector, the airline sector will likely benefit from hopes for potential stimulus, while Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) are higher premarket after both filed for emergency usage approval for their Covid-19 treatments. Additionally, Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) and Helen of Troy are due to report earnings.
Oil prices gained Thursday as the approach of Hurricane Delta caused production in many of the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to be halted. A strike by oil workers in Norway is also set to cut output from western Europe's biggest oil and gas producer.
Gains are restrained though, as fuel demand concerns persist with crude oil supplies rising. The Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday showed crude inventories rose by 501,000 barrels last week, a little more than expected.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.7% higher at $40.63 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 1.9% to $42.77. Both contracts fell over 1.5% on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,896.75/oz, while EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.1756.