Stock futures modestly higher ahead of GDP report

NEW YORK — Stock futures are pointing to a modestly higher opening Thursday as investors await a key reading on the nation’s economic health.

Overseas markets were mixed.

Investors have spent the past couple of months hunting for clues of just how much the economy has recovered from its depths earlier this year. Thursday’s gross domestic product reading will finally give them a precise measurement of the rebound.

Stocks have been on an almost nonstop ascent since March as traders welcomed signs the economy was stabilizing and starting to improve. Investors have recently pulled back though, worried the market might be climbing faster than the economic recovery.

Major indexes have retreated sharply in the past week from yearly highs.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predict GDP, the broadest measurement of the country’s economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the third quarter, after four straight quarters of contraction. Growth was likely bolstered by government stimulus programs such as the Cash-for-Clunkers auto program and tax credits for first-time home buyers.

While growth would be a welcome sign, investors became a bit nervous Wednesday after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its estimate for GDP growth to 2.7 percent from 3 percent.

The report is due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 33, or 0.3 percent, to 9,744. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 3.90, or 0.4 percent, to 1,042.40, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 4.75, or 0.3 percent, to 1,684.75.

Thursday also brings the Labor Department’s weekly report on jobless claims. Economists predict the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits dipped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 521,000 last week.

The drop would reverse a gain the previous week and continue an earlier trend of steady declines. A steady recovery in the jobs market is seen as vital to strengthening confidence of consumers, whose spending accounts for more than two-thirds of all economic activity.

The report is due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Stocks are trying to rebound after being pummeled again on Wednesday. A disappointing report on sales of new homes helped ignite worries about the pace of a recovery.

The Commerce Department said new home sales fell in September to an annualized rate of 402,000. Economists had been expecting home sales to rise last month.

The Dow lost more than 100 points, falling 1.2 percent. It was the Dow’s third triple-digit drop in the last four sessions. The S&P and Nasdaq both fell for the fourth straight day. The S&P tumbled 2 percent, while the Nasdaq sank 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.44 percent from 3.42 percent late Wednesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.07 percent from 0.06 percent.

The dollar mostly fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.8 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose less than 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.2 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent.