The markets appear set to start the day slightly higher after a report showed jobless claims fell last week.
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell for a third straight week. Initial claims fell 4,000 to 621,000, basically in-line with expectations. This number is consistent with recent reports, which have signaled that the pace of layoffs is slowing. The focal point of today's report, though, is the continuing claims number. The number of people staying on benefits fell 15,000 to 6.74 million, marking the first time continuing claims fell since the first week of January.
Separately, non-farm productivity rose higher than expected and retail sales data was mixed, indicating consumers reluctant to spend. In other developments, both the ECB and the Bank of England left their key lending rates unchanged at 1.00% and 0.50%respectively, as expected.
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