Potomac Wealth Advisors President Mark Avallone discusses his sector picks and what is moving markets.
U.S. equity futures were cautious Thursday morning as oil fell on reports that strategic reserves may be released.
The major futures indexes are mostly higher.
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President Biden is reportedly preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve, according to two people familiar with the decision, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked as the U.S. and allies have imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
CRUDE PRICES FALL ON REPORTS BIDEN PLANS TO TAP OIL RESERVE
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell $5.66, or 5.3%, to $102.05 a barrel.
Brent futures fell $4.17, or 3.7%, to $109.28 a barrel.
A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (REUTERS/Richard Carson / Reuters Photos)
Russian forces shelled areas near Kyiv and another city Wednesday after Moscow said it would scale back operations there to promote trust. Negotiators were meeting in Turkey to try to end the five-week-old war.
RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES
It will be a busy morning on the economic front.
The Commerce Department will report personal income and spending numbers for February. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate spending to rise 0.5% month-over-month, trailing a stronger-than-expected increase of 2.1% in January. Personal income, meanwhile, is also expected to edge up 0.5% in February after a flat January.
Income & spending numbers will be reported Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh / AP Images)
Core personal consumption expenditures, which remove volatile food and energy prices, are also seen rising 0.4% month-over-month. The year-over-year change in core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, is expected to shoot up to 5.5%, which would be the highest in almost 39 years.
The Labor Department is out with its tally of new claims for unemployment benefits for last week. Expectations are for 197,000, up slightly from 187,000 the previous week. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, are anticipated to hold steady at 1.35 million. The government will release the monthly jobs report on Friday morning.
The Institute for Supply Management is out with its Chicago Purchasing Managers’ index for March. The closely-watched gauge of Midwest business activity is anticipated to rise slightly.
Bitcoin traded around $47,000.
In Asia, The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.1% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4% after an index of Chinese manufacturing activity fell to a five-month low.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 35228.81 | -65.38 | -0.19% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4602.45 | -29.15 | -0.63% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14442.274554 | -177.36 | -1.21% |
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.6% to 4,602.45 after Commerce Department data showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of 6.9% in the final quarter of 2021, below forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 35,228.81. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.2% to 14,442.27.
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Markets have mostly gained ground this week as talks between Russia and Ukraine seemed to show progress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
