Barrons.com:
Wall Street was headed for an uninspired open Thursday after reversing days of losses Wednesday, as investors look ahead to economic data.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed down less than 10 points, after the index surged 236 points Wednesday to close at 34,814. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were similarly lower.
Overseas, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5% as the woes of highly indebted property developer Evergrande continued to weigh on markets. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.7% higher, buoyed by U.S. sentiment and led higher by travel stocks.
The market narrative was broadly unchanged, as investors continue to focus on economic growth prospects against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Digesting economic data has been an important part of this analysis, and strong industrial production figures Wednesday gave markets the boost to close higher after stocks have been wobbly all month.
U.S. retail sales for August, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve manufacturing survey for September, and initial jobless claims for last week are the highlights of the economic data calendar in the day ahead.
“Markets, particularly in the U.S., are cherry-picking news headlines and tier-two data to fit the narrative of flip-flopping daily sentiment,” said Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at broker Oanda.
Halley said he expects to see Wall Street’s Wednesday surge reversed if U.S. retail sales print lower than -0.8%, but investors could equally ignore those data and focus on the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey or initial jobless claims.
“Hopefully, next week’s cast of …central bank policy decisions, starting with the Federal Reserve, delivers more thematic clarity,” Halley added.
Here are seven stocks on the move Thursday:
Media group Lagardère (MMB.France), which owns Paris Match magazine and other properties, jumped 20% after industry giant Vivendi (VIV.France) moved to increase its stake in the company.
Budget European airline Ryanair (RYA.U.K.) lifted off 6% after lifting its long-term traffic forecast.
Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande (3333.H.K.) slipped 6.5%, bringing its year-to-date decline to 81%. The latest update as the company moves closer to restructuring was that its main unit moved to suspend corporate bond trading after a credit downgrade.
The regulatory crackdown in Macau—the world’s largest gaming center—continues to hurt, with Wynn Macau (1128.H.K.) down 4.7% and China Sands (1928.H.K.) 8%. Shares in the two companies’ parents— Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS)—were both down between 2% and 3% in U.S. premarket trading.
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