School Articles

1. Red across the board

U.S. stock futures are sliding, and European markets are roughly 1% lower in early trading.

Asian markets ended the day in the red, with most indexes dropping by 1% to 2%.

Mining companies are taking a beating as commodity prices drop and the U.S. dollar strengthens.

As traders consider their next move, it's worth noting that stock markets have been on a remarkable run for the last few weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have all surged from their recent lows, gaining between 11% and 12% since February 11.

2. Gold tumbles to 4-week low on April rate hike fears

Gold futures tumbled to a four-week low on Thursday as investors digested hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.

Gold prices lost $7.00, or 0.57%, to trade at $1,217.00 a troy ounce, the lowest level since February 23.

3. Oil prices sink as glut concerns remain

Oil prices extended losses from the prior session on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark slumping to a one-week low after data showed that domestic oil supplies rose to an all-time high last week, underlining concerns over a supply glut.

U.S. crude was down 77 cents, or 1.94%, to $39.02, by 10:00GMT, or 6:00AM ET, while Brent shed 74 cents, or 1.83%, at $39.73 a barrel.

4. U.S. data in focus

The U.S. is to produce data on February durable goods orders at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET, on Thursday. The report is expected to show that orders for durable goods slumped 2.8% last month, following a gain of 4.7% in January, while core orders are forecast to inch down 0.2% after rising 1.7% a month earlier.

The weekly report on initial jobless claims is also due at 8:30AM ET, followed by the Markit Services PMI at 9:45AM ET.

Upbeat readings would help support the case for the Fed to steadily tighten monetary policy.