U.S. stock futures held near all-time highs on Friday as Wall Street returned from a holiday break ahead of a key monthly jobs report that will factor into the Federal Reserve’s rate cut calculations.
S&P 500 (ES=F) futures were little changed after a record end to a shortened session Markets closed Wednesday and Thursday for the July 4 holiday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also held steady, while those in the Nasdaq 100 (, a technology-heavy index)NQ=F) increased slightly by 0.1%.
Investors are preparing for the June jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET, on alert for a slowdown in the labor market. the report should show Nonfarm payroll growth slowed to 190,000 in June and the unemployment rate held steady at 4%.
Signs of more flexible conditions in the data Data released earlier this week reinforced the view that inflation will continue to slow, setting the stage for the Fed to cut interest rates from their highest level in two decades. Traders are now pricing in a nearly 75% chance of a September rate cut, according to The CME FedWatch Tool.
The key question in Friday’s jobs data is whether Monthly employment growth slows reflects a standardization in the labor market as he recovers from the pandemic, or the first signs of a broader economic slowdownYahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports.
Elsewhere, the Landslide victory for the Labour Party in the British elections draws attention Investors are monitoring political risk in the US presidential race. As major donors urge President Joe Biden to step down, eyes are on Donald Trump’s growing lead and what this could mean for markets.
Boosted by the rise of AI, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) quarterly profit has increased 15 times its size a year ago, taking the stock to its highest level in three years.
On the corporate side, cryptocurrency-related stocks Coinbase Global (PIECE OF MONEY) and Marathon Digital (MARA) lost about 6% in premarket trading as bitcoin (BTC-USD) sank to its lowest level against the dollar since February.
