Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
Futures contracts pegged to major US stock indices were slightly higher Thursday morning as Wall Street appeared to be improving after a mixed week.
Dow futures rose 89 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also gained about 0.3%.
Movements in the futures markets came after a mostly lower regular session on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 323.73 points, or 0.9%, to close near its daily low at 34,792.67. The S&P 500 lost about 0.5% to close at 4,402.66 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 14,780.53.
On Thursday, investors will receive another update on the US employment situation with the latest weekly update from the Department of Labor on initial jobless claims. Recent earnings and economic data have been strong overall, but some economists fear economic growth and employment gains will slow down from here.
“Many factors are likely to be responsible for the labor shortage; Concerns about contagion with the virus, childcare obligations, skill imbalances and generous unemployment insurance benefits, “PNC senior economist Abbey Omodunbi said in an email. In the second half of the year, “increased competition for labor, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sectors, will help accelerate wage growth and boost household incomes and consumer spending”.
The results of an ADP private payroll released Wednesday showed 330,000 jobs growth for July, well below the consensus estimate of 653,000. The Department of Labor’s official job report, which usually has more of an impact on investors, will be released on Friday. Economists estimate the report will show 845,000 additional non-farm employment figures in the US by July, according to estimates by Dow Jones, about the same as in the previous month.
The US 10-year Treasury yield traded near 1.18% on Thursday after briefly falling below 1.13% on Wednesday.
The shares of Roku and Uber fell after each published quarterly results. Etsy fell 12% in pre-hours trading after the company released a forecast for the current quarter suggesting the pandemic-sparked trading boom may be coming to an end. Uber was 3% behind in pre-trading.
Robinhood’s shares rose 50% during Wednesday’s regular trading and continued a volatile rise after last week’s sluggish IPO. Semiconductor stocks were another bright spot, with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices rising.
