Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know today in financial markets on Thursday:
1. Global stocks struggle for direction on Christmas Eve
Global stock markets struggled for direction in low-volume trade on Thursday, with much of the Western world already shuttered for the Christmas and year-end holidays.
Asia stocks were mixed, with shares in China leading losses, knocking the region's Christmas cheer before the holiday period.
Meanwhile, European stocks mostly edged lower at the start of Thursday’s holiday-shortened session, but still looked set to score gains for the week.
Trading in the U.K. is slated to stop at 12:30PM London time, or 7:30AM ET, while markets in France are set to close at 2:00PM CET, or 8:00AM ET. Germany’s DAX and some other European markets are shuttered for the whole day. European stock markets will remain closed for Christmas on Friday.
Elsewhere, U.S. stock futures were little changed, suggesting a flat open on Wall Street later in the day. U.S. markets close at 1:00PM ET Thursday, Christmas Eve, and are shut Friday for Christmas Day.
2. Oil rally pauses
Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, following Wednesday’s big gain, in what is expected to be thin volume ahead of the Christmas break.
U.S. crude was last down 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $37.42 a barrel as of 6:43AM ET, after rallying $1.36, or 3.76%, on Wednesday. London-traded Brent was last down 36 cents, or 0.96%, to $37.00 a barrel. A day earlier, prices jumped $1.25, or 3.46%.
Brent's discount to the WTI crude contract stood at 42 cents, compared to a discount of 14 cents by close of trade on Wednesday. U.S. crude has been firmer relative to Brent recently, on signs that the U.S. oil market is likely to grow tighter, while a global glut gets worse in 2016.
3. U.S. jobless claims data due ahead of the bell
The U.S. is to release a weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30AM ET Thursday, amid expectations for a decline of 1,000 to 270,000.
Data on Wednesday showed that orders for U.S. core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, declined 0.4% last month, while shipments of core capital goods, a category used to calculate quarterly economic growth, slumped 0.5%.
However, separate reports showed that personal spending rose for the eighth straight month in November, while consumer sentiment improved to a five-month high in December.
4. U.S. dollar drifts lower
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.4% at 97.99 during European morning hours.
The index, which has fallen back to levels seen before the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on December 17, remains well off last week's two-week high of 99.33.
The dollar slid against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.5% to 1.0965. Against the yen, the greenback dipped 0.55% to 120.28 (USD/JPY).
5. Gold inches up ahead of Christmas break
Gold prices drifted higher in in quiet pre-holiday trade on Thursday, after languishing for two straight sessions.
The precious metal is on track to post an annual decline of 10% in 2015, the third yearly loss in a row, as speculation over the timing of a Fed rate hike dominated market sentiment for most of the year.