By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures traded in a narrow range Thursday, hovering near unchanged as investors weighed weaker Chinese economic data that was seen as strengthening the case for more stimulus from Beijing.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU2 -0.03% gave up a modest early gain to decline 11 points, or 0.1%, to 13,109.
S&P 500 Index futures SPU2 -0.15% lost 3 points to 1,395.20, while Nasdaq-100 futures NDU2 -0.06% rose 0.5 point to 2,707.25.
“The Chinese data release that many traders were waiting for overnight may be pointing toward a slowdown but there’s seemingly little to suggest this has taken anyone by surprise,” said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor in London.
China’s consumer-price index rose 1.8% in July from the year-ago period, the slowest increase since January 2010, according to FactSet data, and a slowdown from June’s 2.2% pace. The monthly producer-price index dropped 2.9% versus a year earlier after a 2.1% drop in June. Read: China data point to slowdown, need for easing.
Investors have long anticipated that China’s “meteoric” growth rate would eventually cool, McCudden said, noting some economists still see room for China’s gross domestic product to expand by more than 8% this year.
“Obviously any softer stance on monetary policy will serve up another boost, but there’s certainly scope for Beijing to leave the powder dry on this one for a little while,” McCudden said, in emailed comments.
The China data boosted Asian markets, with most equity indexes closing in higher territory and expectations that the Chinese government will move to support growth. Read: Asian stocks pull higher on weak China data .
European equities failed to hold early gains in choppy trade. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.09% rose declined 0.1%. See: Europe Markets .
European shares were underpinned early in part by a stronger-than-expected earnings report from Nestle SA CH:NESN +3.19% NSRGY +0.08% , the world’s largest food company by sales.
Investors on Thursday will get the latest U.S. data on weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect first-time claims for jobless benefits to rise to 370,000 in the week ended Aug. 4 from 365,000 the previous week.
June trade figures are also due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, while June wholesale inventories figures are set for release at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Corporate results continue to flow, with department-store operator Kohl’s Corp. KSS +0.44% reporting a 20% decline in second-quarter earnings as same-store sales fell more than analysts expected and margins weakened.
Results are also expected from fast-food chain Wendy’s Co. WEN -0.22% , restaurant operator Brinker International Inc. EAT +0.93% and others.
Nymex crude-oil futures CLU2 +0.30% rose 10 cents to $93.45 a barrel. Gold futures GCZ2 -0.17% dropped $3 to trade at $1,613 an ounce.
The dollar index DXY +0.29% , a measure of the U.S. unit against a basket of six major rivals, rose 0.2% to 82.564. The euro EURUSD -0.46% fell 0.5% against the dollar to $1.2305. The U.S. currency lost 0.1% versus the Japanese yen USDJPY +0.05% at ÂĄ78.37.
William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.
