U.S. economic data due Thursday will be closely watched ahead of the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, with initial jobless claims and Kansas Fed indicators among the highlights.
Initial jobless claims, due at 7:30 a.m. ET, are forecast at 208,000, up slightly from 206,000 the prior week. Continuing claims are expected to edge down to 1.79 million from 1.799 million. The four-week moving average of claims stands at 204,000, indicating a stable labor market trend.
The Kansas City Fed will release its composite index and manufacturing index at 10:00 a.m. ET, with the composite index at 9 and manufacturing at 17 in the prior reading. Wholesale inventories are projected to rise 0.2%, matching the previous month’s gain, while retail inventories excluding autos are seen unchanged after a 0.4% decline.
Natural gas storage data, due at 9:30 a.m. ET, is forecast to show a build of 19 billion cubic feet, following a 16 billion cubic feet increase the prior week. The goods trade deficit is expected to narrow to $100.8 billion from $101.41 billion, while the 2-year Treasury note auction is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET.
The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet and reserve balances data are also due at 3:30 p.m. ET, with balances at $2.93 trillion and the balance sheet at $6.746 trillion in the latest report.
The economic calendar follows the release of ProPicks AI’s Tech Titans strategy, which has more than doubled the S&P 500 since its November 2023 launch, citing gains in Siemens Energy and Sandisk as key contributors.
