Dow Jones futures jump nearly 200 pts, indicate positive start ahead in US stock market; US GDP, jobless data in focus

US stock market today: The three main US stock market benchmark indices — the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — are poised for a fairly positive start on Thursday, amid largely positive moves across their Asian and European peers driven by banking and tech shares. Investors globally awaited a key US GDP reading and data on jobless claims in the world's largest economy to assess the future course of benchmark interest rates.

Analysts say caution persists among investors about nascent recovery in banking shares, with focus on any next batch of vulnerable businesses after the collapse and rescue of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank rocked the sector's shares around the globe. 

Wall Street today: What to expect in the US stock market at the opening bell

At 6:30 pm India time, the futures contracts of the three main US stock market indices, the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, quoted around half a per cent each, suggesting a positive start ahead on Wall Street.  

Here's where the three contracts — Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures — stood at minutes before the opening bell in the US stock market:

• Dow Jones: up 192 points — or 0.6 per cent — at 33,095 
• S&P 500: up 25.3 points — or 0.6 per cent — at 4,082.8
• Nasdaq Composite: up 89 points — or 0.7 per cent — at 13,054 

MSCI's All-Country World Index (ACWI) — meant to capture moves across major markets around the world — was up two points or 0.3 per cent at 637.3. 

Earlier in the day, the index maker's broadest gauge of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5 per cent.

• Japan's Nikkei 225: down 0.4 per cent
• Singapore's Straits Times: down 0.2 per cent
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: up 0.6 per cent
• South Korea's KOSPI: down 0.4 per cent
• Shanghai Composite: down 0.7 per cent

Back home, equity benchmarks Nifty and Sensex were set to resume trade on Friday after a mid-week Ram Navami holiday on March 30. 

Here's a list of key triggers for the US stock market today: 

• Quarterly GDP growth final estimate
• Initial jobless claims data
• Consumer spending data
• Fed official Tom Barkin due to speak

How the US stock market fared on Wednesday, March 29: 

Wall Street indices rallied on Wednesday led by banking and financial shares, as upbeat outlooks from companies such as Micron Tech (MU) took away some of the concerns about the health of the US economy.

Dow Jones: up 323.4 points or one per cent at 32,717.6

S&P 500: up 56.5 points or 1.4 per cent at 4,027.8

Nasdaq Composite: up 210.2 points or 1.8 per cent at 11,926.2 Read more on US stock market action on Wednesday  

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