US equity markets are likely to open on a cautious note once again on Thursday morning, in the absence of any major indicators or results to sink their teeth into.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on the main New York indices are trading at stable levels, or even slightly down, suggesting an uncertain start to the session, to say the least.

Wall Street is thus heading for a third consecutive session without direction, after closing once again without direction, not far from its all-time peaks.

With little information available to make investment decisions, traders remain in a wait-and-see position, looking for the next bullish catalyst likely to reawaken the stock market.

Hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon cut rates are the main factor behind the upward movement that has been resuming in New York for almost three weeks now.

As a result, the S&P 500, the benchmark index for fund managers, is now just a stone's throw away from its all-time high of 5264.8 points, reached at the end of March.

After these strong performances, investors may be tempted to take a break, especially as the earnings season draws to a close and economic indicators become rarer.

The only important statistic on today's agenda is that jobless claims rose to 231,000 in the week to April 29, up 22,000 on the previous week.

Apart from these figures, there are no other major indicators on the agenda.

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