Wall Street Edgy Even As Risk Appetite Resurfaces

(RTTNews) - Trading in the U.S. index futures shows that Wall Street stocks may open Thursday's session on a nervous note. Asian stocks closed mixed earlier in the global trading day amid positive Japanese trade data, mixed Australian jobs data and the yen's sneak above the 100 level against the dollar. Helped by positive U.K. retail sales data and gains by commodities, the European markets are higher. The domestic markets could also focus on earnings from Wal-Mart (WMT), economic data on jobless claims and regional manufacturing activity and a couple of Fed speeches.

As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 4 points and the S&P 500 futures are little changed while the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving down 3.25 points.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday, helped by the FOMC minutes, which revealed divided opinion among policymakers over monetary policy normalization.

On the economic front, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its jobless claims report for the week ended August 13th at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have slipped to 265,000from 266,000 in the previous week.

Also at 8:30 am ET, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve is due to release the results of its business outlook survey for August. The consensus estimate calls for an improvement in the index to 2 from -2.9 in July.

The Conference Board is set to release its leading economic indicators index for July at 10 am ET. Economists expect the index to rise 0.2 percent month-over-month.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley will speak and answer questions at a press briefing about regional economic conditions in New York at 10 am ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is scheduled to give a speech on the economic outlook in Anchorage, Alaska at 4 pm ET. The speech would be followed by audience and media Q and A.

In major corporate news, Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenues that bettered expectations. The company's first quarter adjusted earnings per share guidance is weak and it also announced plans to trim 5,500 positions or 7 percent of its workforce.

Agilent (A) reported better than expected second quarter adjusted earnings per share, while its revenues trailed estimates. The company's full year guidance is weak.

L Brands (LB) reported above-consensus adjusted earnings per share and revenues for its second quarter. The company's third quarter and full year earnings per share guidance is positive.

Synopsys' (SNPS) third quarter adjusted earnings per share exceeded estimates. The company issued upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter and the full year.

Applied Materials (AMAT), DeVry Education (DV), Gap (GPS), Mentor Graphics (MENT), New York & Co. (NWY) and Ross Stores (ROST) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.

The Asian markets had a mixed outing amid positive reaction to the dovish message of the FOMC minutes and the yen's strong rally.

The Japanese market retreated as the yen strengthened past the 100-level against the dollar. The Nikkei 225 ended down 259.63 points or 1.55 percent at a fresh 1-week low of 16,486. Australia's All Ordinaries gave back some gains it notched up in early trading and languished below the unchanged line for the bulk of the session. The index lost 20.80 points or 0.37 percent before ending at 5,607.

China's Shanghai Composite ended down 5.44 points or 0.17 percent at 3,104. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 223.38 points or 0.98 percent before ending at 23,023.

On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy added 26,200 jobs in July compared to expectations for an addition of 10,000 jobs. However, the addition was in the volatile part-time category. Nevertheless, the jobless rate edged down to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent in June.

The Japanese Ministry of Finance reported that the nation's trade surplus came in better than expected at 513.51 billion yen in July, while economists expected a surplus of 273.2 billion yen. Exports were down 14 percent year-over-year and imports plunged 23 percent.

European stocks opened higher and are firmly in the green, reacting to the overnight FOMC minutes and positive U.K. retail sales data.

In major corporate news, Nestle reported a slowdown in its first half underlying sales growth. However, the company sees improvement in the second half. U.K. home improvement retailer Kingfisher reported better than expected second quarter sales.

On the economic front, final inflation data released by Eurostat showed that annual inflation in the eurozone rose to 0.2 percent in July from 0.1 percent in June. This was in line with the flash estimate. Core inflation was unchanged at 0.9 percent.

U.K. retail sales rebounded in June, according to a report released by the U.K. Office for National Statistics. U.K. retail sales rose 1.4 percent month-over-month in July following a 0.9 percent drop in June. Economists expected a mere 0.1 percent growth. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales were up a robust 1.5 percent.