After five straight days of losses, U.S. stocks look set to make modest gains when the markets open Thursday.
U.S. stock futures were moving up, with the Nasdaq rising by 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were edging up by roughly 0.2%.
After hitting record highs earlier in the month, market sentiment has taken a hit as investors worry about political gridlock, a possible government shutdown and federal debt issues. These issues all have the potential to hurt America’s economic growth.
“The US [is] running the show as usual, with uncertainty surrounding budget negotiations (deadline 1 Oct) and the debt ceiling (deadline 17 Oct) of the world’s No.1 economy keeping optimism in check,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note to clients.
Investors are now waiting for the U.S. government to provide its final estimate of second-quarter GDP at 8:30 a.m. ET. The government will also release its weekly report on initial jobless claims.
At 10:00, the National Association of Realtors will release its monthly report on pending home sales.
In corporate news, Nike and Accenture are set to release quarterly results after the closing bell.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond surged in after-hours trading Wednesday after the retailer posted quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
But overall, U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive day of declines.
European markets were edging lower in morning trading. Asian markets ended with mixed numbers.
Markets in China declined but Japanese stocks rallied and the Nikkei jumped by 1.2% on talk of a potential corporate tax cut.
