The New York Stock Exchange is heading for a broadly stable opening on Thursday morning, but the American market is still slightly ahead for the whole of the short Easter week, recording its second weekly rise in a row.

Half an hour before the opening, the Dow Jones futures contract was up 0.1%, but the Nasdaq contract was down 0.1%, suggesting a lacklustre start to the session.

Trading volumes are expected to be low ahead of the long Easter weekend, as markets will be closed tomorrow for Good Friday, although they will reopen on Monday, unlike the European markets.

For the time being, Wall Street is heading for a slightly positive result for the week shortened by the Easter vacations. In four sessions so far, the Dow has gained 0.7% and the S&P 500 0.3%, although the Nasdaq has lost 0.2%.

After setting new all-time highs recently, the benchmark indices now seem to be running a little short of steam in the absence of any new impetus.

The day's economic indicators were rather reassuring, with growth revised upwards in Q4, to 3.4% compared with 3.2% in the second reading.

The Labor Department announced 210,000 new jobless claims last week, down 2,000 on the previous week.

These figures seem to confirm the scenario of a soft landing for the US economy, marked by solid growth, normalized inflation and the prospect of rate cuts.

All eyes will now turn to the PCE inflation statistic, the Fed's most closely watched measure, which will be released tomorrow when markets are closed for Good Friday.

If the forthcoming inflation figures go in the right direction, the scenario of a first rate cut in June, favored by over 60% of investors, will be greatly strengthened.

"In short, more growth without more inflation: what could be better?" asks one trader.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.