U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of Thursday’s opening bell, pointing to another cautious session as investors looked ahead to Friday’s closely watched employment report for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
Markets are expected to remain rangebound as traders avoid taking large positions before the release of July’s non-farm payrolls data.
Labour market remains in focus
Economists expect Friday’s employment report to show the U.S. economy added 88,000 jobs in July, following an increase of 57,000 in June.
Ahead of the payrolls release, the latest Labour Department data showed initial jobless claims edged up slightly during the week ended August 1.
New claims for unemployment benefits increased by 1,000 to 199,000 from the prior week’s revised figure of 198,000. The reading came in below economists’ expectations of 202,000, suggesting the labour market remains resilient.
SanDisk weighs on technology shares
Technology stocks may face renewed pressure after SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) dropped around 10% in pre-market trading.
Although the memory chip manufacturer reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, investors reacted negatively to weaker-than-anticipated guidance for the current quarter.
Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday
U.S. equities started Wednesday’s session on a positive note before giving back most of the gains later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to finish 263.24 points, or 0.5%, higher at 54,349.12. However, the S&P 500 slipped 12.97 points, or 0.2%, to 7,723.55, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 221.55 points, or 0.8%, to 26,363.44.
The late-session weakness followed four consecutive advances that had lifted both the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record highs, prompting investors to lock in profits.
AI spending concerns hit chipmakers
Technology shares also remained under pressure following earnings from SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX), whose shares fell 13.6% despite reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue after investors focused on a sharp increase in capital expenditure.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) also declined 7%, even after posting quarterly results ahead of expectations.
Disney helps support the Dow
The Dow outperformed the broader market thanks in part to Disney (NYSE:DIS), which gained 3.7% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings.
Dow components Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) also posted solid gains, rising 4.6% and 3.4%, respectively.
ADP report points to slower hiring
Wednesday’s economic data painted a softer picture of the labour market after payroll processor ADP reported that private-sector employment increased by just 44,000 jobs in July.
The June figure was revised down to 95,000 from 98,000, while economists had expected July payrolls to rise by 75,000.
Sector performance was mixed
Energy stocks came under pressure as crude oil prices continued to weaken. The NYSE Arca Oil Index fell 3%, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index lost 2.5%.
Telecommunications stocks also struggled, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index declining 2.5%.
In contrast, gold miners rallied alongside higher bullion prices. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbed 7.6%, recording its strongest close in more than a month.