U.S. stocks are on track for a modestly higher start on Thursday, with the S&P 500 looking to extend the winning streak to six sessions. The ultimate trading direction of the day could hinge on a slew of key data, due for the day, pertaining to the job market, consumer spending and manufacturing activity as well as retail earnings. Most of these have relevance for growth at a time when pricing pressure has eased.

Fund manager Louis Navellier said the July retail sales report along with Walmart, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) should offer clues regarding the health of the consumer. These catalysts are all the more important, given concerns expressed by companies over the health of consumers on their earnings calls as well as the higher credit card balances and rising delinquency rates. Walmart shares rose over 6% in premarket following its quarterly beat and an upward revision to full-year guidance.

Futures

Performance (+/-)

Nasdaq 100

+0.07%

S&P 500

+0.04%

Dow

+0.18%

R2K

-0.5%

In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) added 0.12% to $544.38, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.19% to $463.61, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

Wall Street closed Wednesday’s session higher, although trading sentiment remained lackluster for much of the day following the July consumer price inflation that came in line with expectations. Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) led communication services stocks lower amid rumors that the Department of Justice is contemplating a break-up of the search giant amid anti-trust concerns.

The major averages opened higher but turned lower immediately after, but the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index recovered and traded mostly higher for the remainder of the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was confined in negative territory for the bulk of the ...