The Market On Thursday

Welcome to October!

At 8:00 a.m. futures are moderately down.

Its a day of numbers. All kinds of data on the economy and the how the alleged recovery is doing, come out today.

All indications seem to point to a less than desirable type of trading day. October 1 also marks the beginning of the 4th quarter. Its the 3rd quarter numbers that could reignite the presently resting mini-bull.

David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Markets, said he expects trading to be "directionless" Thursday, despite the wave of morning data. He said many investors will have a wait-and-see approach ahead of Friday's payroll numbers, a critical measure of the job market. source

Reuters: Stock futures dip ahead of ISM, jobless claims data

A total of 530,000 new filings for jobless claims, the same as the previous week, is forecast by economists. The data is set for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT.