U.S. Stocks Down with Increased Global Volatility

U.S. stock futures are pointing lower for Thursday, June 2 as stocks are mixed in global trading. The Dow Futures are down 13 points to 17766.0. The S&P 500 Futures are down -2.25 points to 2095.75. The Nasdaq Futures are lower at 4518.5 for a loss of -3.00 points. The Russell Futures are showing a loss of -1.20 points at 1160.3.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, stocks in Asia were mixed. China’s Shanghai Composite was higher at 2925.23 for a gain of 11.72 points or 0.40 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was lower at 16562.55 for a loss of -393.18 points or -2.32 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was higher at 20859.22 for a gain of 98.24 points or 0.47 percent. In India the S&P BSE Sensex was higher at 26843.14 for a gain of 129.21 points or 0.48 percent. The Asia Dow was lower at 2643.90 for a loss of -15.26 points or -0.57 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was higher at 6214.06 for a gain of 22.13 points or 0.36 percent. Germany’s DAX was higher at 10212.30 for a gain of 7.86 points or 0.08 percent. France’s CAC 40 was higher at 4476.72 for a gain of 1.33 points or 0.03 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was higher at 344.67 for a gain of 0.55 points or 0.16 percent. The Europe Dow was higher at 1558.13 for a gain of 8.30 points or 0.54 percent.

Thursday’s Factors and Events

Leading economic indicators on the calendar for Thursday include the ADP private sector employment report, jobless claims and the EIA Petroleum Status report. The employment data will be the highlight for the day and should provide some indication of the labor market’s overall direction for May ahead of the Employment Situation report tomorrow from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On Thursday in Austria, OPEC will be meeting to discuss production levels. Investors are hopeful for a potential cap on supply which would help improve oil prices. In Europe, the European Central Bank will also be meeting to discuss monetary policy. The ECB has mostly been easing interest rate policy with the current rate at zero.

In the pre-market, stocks actively trading for the day include Monsanto, Ford, Berkshire Hathaway, Equity Residential, Caterpillar, Oracle, Exxon Mobil, Costco, IBM and Carnival.

Wednesday’s Activity

On Wednesday, stocks in the U.S. were higher after data from the Fed’s Beige Book reported a weaker economy overall mostly in line with trading valuations and assumptions for the near-term. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher, closing at 17789.67 for a gain of 2.47 points or 0.01 percent. The S&P 500 Index was also higher at 2099.33 for a gain of 2.37 points or 0.11 percent. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4.20 points or 0.08 percent to close higher at 4952.25.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Other notable index closes in the U.S. included the small-cap Russell 2000, closing higher at 1163.04 for a gain of 8.25 points or 0.71 percent; the S&P 600 closing at 710.11 for a gain of 4.97 points or 0.70 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1498.52 for a gain of 5.47 points or 0.37 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1238.56 for a gain of 2.34 points or 0.19 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 593.40 for a gain of 1.67 points or 0.28 percent.