The mood on Wall Street continues to be somber on Thursday, as risk aversion continues to rule high. Some positive earnings could serve to cushion any potential slide even as traders look ahead to the jobless claims report and Fed speeches for more clues toward the economic and rate outlook.

Cues From Wednesday’s Trading:

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The 30-stock Dow Industrials showed a lack of direction and flitted in and out of the unchanged line a few times before closing marginally higher. While the Dow bounced off a four-month low, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index ended at their lowest levels since late January.

Most sectors, with the exception of energy, material and industrial stocks, came under selling pressure. Consumer discretionary, utility and real estate stocks were among the worst hit.

Analyst Color:

A slowing manufacturing sector, as underlined by the ISM survey, should ease demand for inputs such as semiconductors, said LPL chief economist Jeffrey Roach. “Higher prices paid within the manufacturing sector is ominous but markets shouldn’t panic yet, “ he added.

”The biggest risk to markets is an economy that stagnates yet continues to struggle with nagging inflation pressures.”

The economist expects the Fed to keep hiking in the coming meeting as the broader economy recalibrates.

Futures Today

Upcoming Economic Data:

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. EST. Economists expect the number of individuals claiming for unemployment benefits to come in at 195,000 in the week ended Feb.25 compared to 192,000 in the previous reporting week.

The Treasury Department will auction 4-week and 8-week bills at 11:30 a.m. EST and 6-month bills at 1:22 p.m. EST.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller is due to speak at 4 p.m. EST and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will speak at 6 p.m. EST.

Stocks In Focus:

Top Analysts’ Call

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were rising for a third straight session on Thursday. A barrel of crude oil traded up 0.72% at $78.25. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury, which topped 4% on Wednesday before easing settled, was on its way back higher. The yield rose 0.034% to 4.03%.

Asian stocks closed mixed yet again on Thursday as investors in the region took cognizance of the risks facing the U.S. economy. The Japanese, Hong Kong, Chinese and Indian markets settled lower, while the rest of the major markets in the region posted uneasy gains.

The major European markets are moderately lower in late-morning trading, as the flash estimate released by Eurostat showed that core inflation in the eurozone is expected at a record 5.6% in February, stoking fears of more rate hikes by the European Central Bank.

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