Mixed Open Likely For US Markets, Oil High

Lower to mixed open likely for the U.S markets Thursday after Dow futures looked down in the morning, hit by the lower earnings reported by its component 3M that hurt sentiments.

It lowered full-year guidance and also announced cutting 2,000 jobs worldwide.

At 6:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated a negative open of more than 150 points. But S&P and Nasdaq futures were slightly up.

Mixed corporate results have already forced a lower close to Wall Street session on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Comcast UPS, Amazon, Ford, Intel, Starbucks, and T-Mobile will announce earnings.

From the data side, those on jobless claims and durable goods will be out.

Oil jumps

Oil price zoomed. Brent oil price crossed the $75 per barrel milestone on Thursday for the first time in 2019 after quality concerns forced the suspension of Russian crude exports to Europe.

Brent crude futures recorded a high of $75.22 by 0851 GMT, up 65 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 20 cents to hit $66.09 per barrel benchmark.

Meanwhile, Poland and Germany suspended imports of Russian crude via the Druzhba pipeline, citing quality concerns. The Czech Republic also halted purchases.

The Russian pipeline to Europe can ship up to 1 million barrels a day or 1 percent of global crude demand. Now 700,000 BPD has been suspended according to trading sources.

Asian stocks tumble

Mainland Chinese stocks tumbled on Thursday after worries escalated that Beijing could roll back stimulus measures after the latest better-than-expected economic data.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.43 percent and the Shenzhen component was down 3.21 percent. The Shenzhen composite plunged 3.4 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.8 percent in the final hour of trading. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.48 percent after the South Korean economy shrank in the first quarter.

But Nikkei 225 in Japan jumped 0.48 percent, while the Topix index added 0.51 percent.

European stocks were slightly lower Thursday after market participants monitored corporate earnings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.15 percent during early morning deals with most sectors in the red.

Gold up

Gold prices moved up on Thursday after a slip in equities and weak economic data from Germany raised flags about global economic growth.

But a firm dollar blocked further gains by the yellow metal. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent to $1,277.72 per ounce at 0815 GMT. The U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,279.60 an ounce.

Asian shares were knocked after data showed German business morale fell in April as trade tensions hurt Europe’s largest economy.

South Korean economy contracted in the first quarter, fuelling concerns on the global economy.

“Heavy technical selling activities have imposed negative pressures on the precious metal for the near term,” wrote Benjamin Lu, analyst, Phillip Futures in a note.