FX.co ★ U.S. Stocks May See Further Downside In Early Trading

Following a mostly lower close in the previous session, stocks are anticipated to experience additional declines in early trading on Thursday. Major index futures currently indicate a lower opening for the markets, with Dow futures particularly showing a significant drop.

Shares of Salesforce (CRM) are expected to negatively impact the Dow, as the cloud-based software company is experiencing a steep decline of 16.5% in pre-market trading. This drop comes after Salesforce reported weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter revenues and issued disappointing guidance for the fiscal second quarter.

Continued concerns about interest rates may also drag down the markets, although a retreat in treasury yields could potentially moderate the selling pressure.

Futures saw some recovery following the release of separate reports indicating a rise in weekly jobless claims and a slower-than-expected GDP growth for the first quarter. The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims increased to 219,000 for the week ending May 25th, up by 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 216,000. Economists had anticipated jobless claims to rise slightly to 218,000 from the initially reported 215,000 for the previous week.

Additionally, the Commerce Department disclosed that gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.3% in the first quarter, down from the previously reported 1.6% increase. This revised growth aligns with economists' expectations and is a marked slowdown from the 3.4% surge in GDP observed in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Shortly after trading begins, the National Association of Realtors will release its report on pending home sales for April. It is anticipated that pending home sales will decline by 0.6% in April following a 3.4% increase in March.

On Wednesday, major U.S. stock indexes moved downward following a mixed performance on Tuesday. The Dow notably declined, reaching its lowest closing level in nearly a month. The major averages all closed firmly in negative territory: the Dow dropped 411.32 points or 1.1% to 38,441.54, the S&P 500 slid 39.09 points or 0.7% to 5,266.95, and the Nasdaq fell 99.30 points or 0.6% to 16,920.58.

In overseas markets, the Asia-Pacific region saw mostly lower trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both tumbled by 1.3%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index decreased by 0.6%.

Conversely, European markets have moved upward for the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.4%, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3%, and the German DAX Index has increased by 0.1%.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are down $0.24 to $78.99 a barrel following a $0.60 decline to $79.23 a barrel on Wednesday. Gold futures, after falling $15.20 to $2,364.10 per ounce in the previous session, are inching up $1.50 to $2,342.70 per ounce.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.63 yen, down from 157.64 yen at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0827, compared to $1.0801 yesterday.