Stock futures trade cautiously ahead of jobs report
While an improved jobs market suggests the economy is gaining momentum, investors are keeping a close eye on signs of inflation
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U.S. equity futures were trading tentatively mixed ahead of the release of the most anticipated economic report of the month, the May employment report.
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Economists have predicted an improvement for May, with 650,000 jobs added, compared with April's surprisingly tepid gain of 266,000. The unemployment rate is projected to fall from 6.1% to 5.9%, according to Refinitiv.
The gain would still be a slower hiring pace than the 1 million jobs a month that many economists had envisioned in early spring. The economy still has 8.2 million fewer jobs than it did before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Other positive labor-related reports came out this week ahead of Friday's headline number.
JOBLESS CLAIMS HIT PANDEMIC LOW, PRIVATE-SECTOR PAYROLLS SURGE PAST EXPECTATIONS
Data released Thursday showed 385,00 Americans filed for first-time jobless benefits in the week ended May 29, the lowest amount since the pandemic began in March 2020. Separately, the ADP National Employment Report found private-sector payrolls grew by 978,000 workers last month. Both reports topped Wall Street's expectations,
In Europe, London's FTSE slipped 0.3%, Germany's DAX was off less than 0.1% and France's CAC gave up 0.1%.
Asian shares mostly slipped Friday, dragged lower by a decline in technology stocks on Wall Street.
While an improved jobs market suggests the economy is gaining momentum after the coronavirus pandemic, investors were keeping a close eye on signs of inflation, which especially hurts the tech sector.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2% and China's Shanghai Composite edged 0.2% higher.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38503.69 | +263.71 | +0.69% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5070.55 | +59.95 | +1.20% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15696.639958 | +245.33 | +1.59% |
On Wall Street on Thursday, the benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 0.4% and is on track for a 0.3% weekly loss.
The S&P 500 fell 15.27 points to 4,192.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1% to 34,577.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1% to 13,614.51.
Microsoft fell 0.6% and Apple lost 1.2%.
AMC RAISES $587 MILLION IN SHARE SALE
AMC Entertainment slumped 17.9%, shedding gains from a brief rally, after the movie theater operator said it would sell more shares after a huge run-up in its stock price on a surge of interest from individual investors. The stock is still up about 2,300% this year.
General Motors jumped 6.4% after saying it expects earnings in the first half of the year to exceed its earlier forecasts after it did a better job of managing a global computer chip shortage than expected.
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In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 25 cents to $69.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up 2 cents to $68.81 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 14 cents to $71.45 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.