Stock Futures Inch Higher as Investors Await Jobs Data

Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open on Thursday ahead of the release of a pair of closely followed employment reports this morning. 

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were recently up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed solidly higher on Wednesday, boosted by the strong performance of tech stocks, which had slumped the previous two sessions.

Investors will be keeping close tabs on ADP’s private sector employment report and weekly jobless claims numbers that are due this morning. Recent data have shown that the U.S. labor market is weakening, which has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when its policy committee meets on Sep. 17. The big event of the week comes Friday morning, when the August jobs report is scheduled to be released.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.20% this morning, down from 4.21% at yesterday’s close and at its lowest level in a month, as investors grow more confident in the likelihood that rate cuts are coming.

Among noteworthy stock moves this morning, shares of Salesforce (CRM), a Dow component, fell more than 7% after the customer-relationship provider issued disappointing guidance, which offset better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares of the world’s largest technology companies were mixed in premarket trading. Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) both gained nearly 2%, while Tesla (TSLA) advanced 1%, and chip giants Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO) rose slightly. Shares of Alphabet (GOOG) slipped 0.5% after soaring 9% yesterday following a federal court ruling that the Google parent would not have to sell its Chrome browser. Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) also ticked lower.

Gold futures were down 0.9% at around $3,600 per ounce, losing ground after hitting record highs on three consecutive days as renewed uncertainty about tariffs led some investors to seek out the traditional safe haven.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, fell 0.9% to $63.40 per barrel, adding to the previous session’s steep losses.

Bitcoin was trading around $111,000, down from an overnight high of $112,300. The cryptocurrency has come under pressure in recent weeks after hitting a record high of more than $124,000 in mid August.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.3% to 98.32.