Dow Jones futures point to flat open following mixed Thursday session

Dow Jones futures trade higher

Thursday proved to be a mixed session for US markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing the session down 0.15% or 39 points to 26,080; the S&P 500 index eked out a gain of 0.06% or 1.85 points to finish at 3,115; while the NASDAQ composite proved to be the best performing of the three, adding 0.33% or 32 points to close at 9,943.

On a more granular level, the best performing Dow constituents were Procter & Gamble, Travelers and Microsoft; while the worst performing were American Express, Goldman Sachs and Pfizer.

Looking forward, as of 8:16pm (EDT) Dow Jones futures are trading 93.8 points or 0.36% higher. By 8:59 however Dow futures were flat, up just 29.3 or 0.11%, suggesting an uncertain open on Friday.

Data that moved the market

The US Labour Department yesterday reported that an additional 1.5 million individuals had applied for jobless benefits – for the week ending June 13. While these initial jobless claims figures were lower than the week prior, they came in below expectations, with economists, polled by Reuters, expecting initial jobless claims for the week to come in at 1.3 million.

Elsewhere, during the week, US Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that timing and strength of the economic recovery in the US economy remained uncertain.

‘Much of that economic uncertainty comes from uncertainty about the path of the disease and the effects of measures to contain it. Until the public is confident that the disease is contained, a full recovery is unlikely,’ Mr Powell said.

Indeed, coronavirus cases in the US continue to tick higher, with many still concerned about a second wave outbreak. At the time of writing there were ~2.2 million reported coronavirus cases in the US, representing around 25% of the global reported case count.

Dow Jones: a technical outlook

Looking at the Dow’s recent fluctuations from a technical perspective, IG Senior Market Analyst, Joshua Mahony yesterday said:

‘The Dow Jones declines seen throughout much of the US session has been eased overnight, with the index regaining ground as we move into European trade. However, those losses yesterday do point towards a potential turn lower once again, with the current rally looking like a bearish retracement given the drop below 26,079 and 25,802 overnight.’

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