Stocks Brace for GDP Report

Stocks drifted higher early Thursday as the previous session's late momentum was muted by concern about an upcoming estimate of first-quarter growth.

Index futures recently showed the S&P 500 trading a point above fair value, while the Nasdaq 100 was set for a flat open. The 10-year Treasury bond was up 1/32 in price to yield 5.04%, while the dollar fell against the yen and euro.

Overseas markets were mixed, with London's FTSE adding 0.2% to 5601 and Germany's Xetra DAX up 0.6% to 5618. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3% overnight to 15,694, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.8% to 15,670.

Stocks turned on a dime Wednesday after the S&P 500 fell to its lowest point of 2006 then bounced. For the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19 points, or 0.2%, to 11,117, while the S&P 500 gained 2 points, or 0.2%, to 1259, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points, or 0.5%, to 2169.

Since their recent peaks on May 10, the Dow has lost 592 points, or 5.1%, while the S&P 500 has lost 67 points, or 5.1%. The Nasdaq, whose most recent high was May 5, the loss entering Thursday is 175 points, or 7.5%.

Commodity prices were higher after a selloff Wednesday. July crude gained 25 cents to $70.11 a barrel, while gold added $5 to $642.50 and copper gained 10 cents to $3.74 a pound. Weakness in commodity prices has coincided with a flight from risk assets where speculators had enjoyed bull markets until earlier this month.

Thursday's economic slate is dominated by the Commerce Department's revision to first-quarter gross domestic product, with the growth rate expected to be revised upward to 5.8%, the fastest three-month clip since the third quarter of 2003. The implicit price deflator, a key inflation measure, is expected to hold at 3.3%.

To view Ana Dane's video take on today's premarket action, click here.

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