Before the bell: Futures finally pointing higher

Posted Sep 3rd 2009 7:35AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Market Matters, Economic Data, Federal Reserve

U.S. stock futures finally broke out of their funk and rose Thursday morning following three straight days of losses on Wall Street. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday the outlook on the economy brightened in August and was followed by encouraging comments Thursday from the OECD. Merger action also helped give stocks a boost. Still, jobs and retail data are ahead this morning and could affect the market in any direction.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest policy meeting Wednesday, saying the outlook on the economy brightened in August and the economy would begin growing in the second half of the year. But the recovery will not be robust. On Thursday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said the global recession is coming to an end faster than thought just a few months ago and may already be over with the recovery even a little stronger than previously predicted.

Investors will also focus on the following reports this morning:

At 8:30 a.m., weekly jobless claims data is due out ahead of Friday's much anticipated nonfarms payrolls report.
At the same time, the European Central Bank will also give its economic outlook and is expected to increase growth projections.
At 10:00 a.m., the August ISM services data will be reported and is expected to have remained flat.
Finally, chain-stores will report August sales mostly before the open. This generally gives an indication of how the retail sector is fairing.

Overseas, Asian markets closed mixed, with China's index jumping nearly 5% but Japan sliding lower. European stocks traded flat as investors awaited the ECB conference where it is expected officials to raise outlook but signal that interest rates will remain low for some time.

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