Wall Street expected to make quiet start

After Wednesday’s surge by US markets, investors on Wall Street seem set to catch their breath when trading reopens on Thursday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to see an initial dip of just 21 points or 0.04%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are expected to edge 0.09% and 0.1% lower respectively. Among the US companies reporting results, chemicals group Dow and biotechnology group Biogen have beaten expectations while American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have reported losses more or less in line with forecasts. Later come the latest figures for the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, a weekly figure that can be somewhat erratic. Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: "Concerns about US inflation appear to have taken a back seat this week, with US 10-year yields down on the week "Last week US weekly jobless claims sank to a post pandemic low of 576,000, confounding expectations of a number above 700,000, a number that should have sent yields sharply higher but didn’t. "Today’s claims numbers are expected to see a modest increase, but only to 610,000, as attention starts to turn towards the next payrolls report which is due in just over two weeks’ time." Four things to watch for on Thursday: The earnings diary for Wednesday will feature results from computer processor maker Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), telecoms giant AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), life sciences, medical and industrial conglomerate Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) and railroad group Union Pacific Corp (NYSE:UNP) In other earnings news, shares in chemicals company Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) will be in focus after the firm reported profits and sales that beat market expectations Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) could also draw attention after the airline reported a loss that was better than feared and a return to positive cash flow in March On the macro front, alongside the jobless claims numbers there will also be home sales data and the Kansas Fed manufacturing index for April