Futures Pointing To Continued Strength On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, extending the upward move seen over the past few sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

The markets may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped the major averages rebound strongly from the significant pullback seen earlier in the month.

Traders seem to have shrugged off the valuation concerns that recently weighed on the markets and dragged the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to their lowest levels in over two months.

While stocks have recently benefitted from renewed optimism about another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month, the futures have remained positive even after the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data.

The Commerce Department released a long-delayed reported this morning showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by more than expected in the month of September. The report said durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in September after spiking by an upwardly revised 3.0 percent in August.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 2.9 percent surge that had been reported for the previous month.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected dip by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 22nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 216,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 222,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000 from the 220,000 originally reported for the previous week.

After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq joining the Dow and the S&P 500 in positive territory after an initial pullback.

The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the end of the day but still posted strong gains. The Dow jumped 664.18 points or 1.4 percent to 47,112.45, the S&P 500 advanced 60.76 points or 0.9 percent to 6,765.88 and the Nasdaq climbed 153.59 points or 0.7 percent to 23,025.59.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.9 percent and South Korea's Kospi surged by 2.7 percent, although China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.06 to $57.89 a barrel after tumbling $0.89 to $57.95 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,156.60, up $16.60 compared to the previous session's close of $4,140. On Tuesday, gold surged $45.80.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.59 yen compared to the 156.04 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1558 compared to yesterday's $1.1569.