Stocks could be in for a choppy session Thursday as investors try to make sense of the latest signals from the Federal Reserve about its bond-buying program.
U.S. stock futures were moving up by roughly 0.2% ahead of the opening bell after trading narrowly weaker earlier.
U.S. stocks finished lower Wednesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed that Fed officials may start winding down their stimulus program for reasons other than an improving job market. Previously, officials had reassured the market that they would continue with their stimulus until the jobs picture improved.
Investors are also waiting for the Senate Banking Committee to vote on Janet Yellen’s confirmation at 10 a.m. ET Thursday. Yellen has been nominated to head the Federal Reserve starting in early 2014.
The U.S. government will release its weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., along with the monthly edition of its Producer Price Index.
Retailers Target, Sears Holdings and Abercrombie & Fitch are set to release quarterly earnings results before the opening bell. Gap is up after the close.
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters gained in after-hours trading Wednesday following quarterly earnings that beat market expectations.
European markets were under pressure in morning trading. The CAC 40 in Paris was down by nearly 1% after new data showed a contraction in French private sector output in November.
Most Asian markets ended with losses, but Japan’s Nikkei surged. The benchmark Tokyo index jumped almost 2% as the Bank of Japan expressed optimism about the country’s recovery and said it would make no changes to its stimulus program.
