Initial Claims Better Than Expected, Futures Still Sagging

Initial claims for the week ending August 6 came in better than expected, and futures are adding to their losses, despite the better than expected numbers. For the week ending August 6, initial claims came in at 395,000 versus expectations of 409,000. The last week was revised to 402,000. Continuing claims came in at 3.688 million versus estimates of 3.7 million. Futures are at session lows as Europe continues to roll over. Dow futures are off 130 points, S&P 500 futures are off 17 points, and NASDAQ futures are off 17 points.