Wall Street traders aren’t in a rush to move on this Thursday morning, with equity futures little changed from last night.
Tomorrow’s monthly jobs data (the NFP, ‘non-farm payroll’ report) is giving the market pause for thought.
Indeed, against a backdrop set in ever-shifting geopolitical sands the caution is quite understandable.
In premarket, the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures all edged slightly higher following Wednesday’s mixed session, which saw markets pause after recent gains.
Dow futures are up 32 points (0.09%) to 42,532, whilst the S&P futures showed a 0.07% gain and the Nasdaq contract was 0.02% in positive territory.
Investor sentiment remains cautious ahead of the May NFPs, after weak ADP and services data earlier this week which raised concerns about the economic impact of US tariffs.
Other employment stats out today – appetizers to tomorrow’s entrée – include jobless claims, productivity, and unit labour costs, which will together set the scene and prime expectations.
Attention on the data will be high, as they’ll likely be influencing factors for the Federal Reserve as it continues to be hounded by President Trump, who repeatedly calls upon Fed chair Jerome Powell to soften interest rates and deliver a sugar rush to the US economy as it deals with the tariff impacts.
At the same time, in Washington, debate over a sweeping fiscal bill has reignited concerns about the US deficit, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating a $2.4 trillion cost.
American bond yields have come under pressure as fiscal uncertainty and geopolitical tensions weigh on markets.
The corporate focus is on Broadcom and Lululemon, which report results after the bell.
Tesla shares slipped premarket after CEO Elon Musk urged lawmakers to block the fiscal bill.
PVH, parent of Calvin Klein, fell sharply after cutting profit guidance, while Robinhood rose on speculation of an S&P 500 inclusion.