US equity futures remained stable as traders processed a wave of recent economic indicators. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.1%, while the S&P 500 futures experienced a slight decline, and Nasdaq futures decreased by 0.2%. Markets will be closed on Thursday in observance of Thanksgiving Day, with an early closure at 1 PM ET on the following day.
Oil prices experienced a rise, with North Sea Brent crude escalating by 0.6% to $72.75 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude increasing by 0.8% to $69.28 per barrel. The third-quarter gross domestic product report, released at 8:30 AM ET, indicated steady growth at 2.8%, aligning with Bloomberg's projections.
New orders for durable goods also reported a 0.2% increase in October, while expectations had pointed to a 0.5% rise. The trade in goods deficit improved to $99.08 billion in October, a reduction from $108.69 billion in the previous month, surpassing estimates predicting a deficit of $102.7 billion.
Moreover, new unemployment claims fell to 213,000 for the week ending November 23, down from 215,000 the week prior, which was in line with expectations. The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index, set for release at 9:45 AM ET, is forecasted to improve to 44.2 in November from 41.6 in October. Investors are also anticipating the October Personal Consumption Expenditures Core Price Index at 10 AM ET, the Federal Reserve's favored inflation measure, with predictions of a 0.3% rise.
Analysts expect the Pending Home Sales Index to reflect a decrease of 2.1% for October. In international markets, Japan's Nikkei declined by 0.8%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 2.3% and China's Shanghai Composite increased by 1.5%. The UK's FTSE 100 fell by 0.05%, and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.3% in early European trading. In the equity sector, Interactive Strength's shares surged more than 37% in pre-market trading following a notice from Nasdaq that confirmed the company regained compliance with the exchange's listing regulations.
Conversely, Grifols' shares fell over 12% due to reports that the company will not consider a new takeover offer from a third party, with Brookfield Asset Management intending to withdraw its takeover proposal..