Jobless Claims: Tomorrow's Headliners

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Traders will be inundated by a myriad of economic releases Thursday, headlined by weekly jobless claims, as the calendar turns to October and the fourth quarter begins.

The Labor Department will release its initial jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. EDT, which should should show claims increased last week to 535,000 from 530,000 the previous week, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Last week, claims unexpectedly dropped by 21,000, although continuing claims remained above the 6 million mark.

Meanwhile, the start of a new month brings the latest monthly auto sales data, with carmakers reporting results throughout the session. Edmunds.com said new vehicle sales in September (including fleet sales) are expected to be around 742,000 units, nearly a 23% decrease from a year ago and a whopping 41.1% from the previous month, which benefitted from the government's Cash for Clunkers program.

Adjusted for fewer selling days, Edmunds.com estimates that Ford (F Quote) saw sales fall 13.3% from a year ago, down 38.6% from August. General Motors is expected to see auto sales fall 48.2% from a year ago and 37.8% from August. Chrysler is expected to see September sales plummet 50.8% from a year ago and 40.7% compared to August's data.

"This September is the opposite of last September," said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Edmunds.com, in a release. "The first half of September 2008 -- before the Lehman Brothers collapse -- was stronger; sales dried up in the second half. This September sales were weak early in the month due to the Cash for Clunkers hangover and now are reaching a more normal -- at least for these times -- equilibrium. So, the trajectory of sales is more positive than a year ago."