Trade Balance and Jobless Claims Before the Bell

US stock markets are looking for a flat open after the S&P 500 moved up 0.78% yesterday, but prices could change quickly depending on the outcome of two data releases an hour before the bell. The news is set to be mixed: the monthly trade deficit is expected to expand to $28 billion in July as imports rise faster than exports, but the weekly labor data should show 20k fewer people filing for first-time jobless claims.

Globally, equities have been turning in both directions. Asia saw the Nikkei soar 1.95% and the Hang Seng climb 1.05%, but China’s Shanghai Index moderated by 0.73% following steady gains in the prior seven days. In London, the FTSE 100 is currently trading down 0.60% after news that the Bank of England was holding the key interest rate at 0.50%. In France, the trade deficit posting its narrowest margin in four years, but the CAC 40 is trading down 0.36% as investors put more weight on the weaker-than-anticipated industrial production figures.

Gold, after inching past the $1,000 mark earlier in the week, has fallen $5 to $986, while the US$ index is slowly climbing this morning after touching a 2009 low on Tuesday.  Commodities, meanwhile, are a bit weaker: oil up just 0.3% at $71.50, while base metals are down 1%-3%, and grain prices are flat.

Key Releases Today:

8:30 â€