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Dow futures higher; nonfarm payrolls loom large

Published 2023-09-01, 06:54 a/m
© Reuters
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Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures traded higher Friday, rebounding after a weak August and ahead of the release of the vital monthly official jobs report.

By 06:45 ET (10:45 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 155 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures traded 17 points, or 0.4%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 34 points, or 0.2%.

Wall Street’s main indices closed in a mixed fashion Thursday, but August has been a difficult month for investors. 

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.4% last month, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.8% and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.2%, both recording their first monthly decreases since February.

Nonfarm payrolls in spotlight

Investors are keenly awaiting the release of the latest monthly jobs report, economic data that many see as being a major factor in the Fed's decision making later this month. 

Job openings came in lower than expected this week, and the August jobs report is expected to show that the economy created 170,000 jobs last month, down from 187,000 the prior month. 

The Fed has been looking for signs that the tight labor market is starting to loosen, which should help tame inflationary pressure.

According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, there is now an 88% chance that the U.S. central bank will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.50%.

Chinese factory activity expands in August

Helping the tone Friday was the news that Chinese factory activity unexpectedly grew in August, offering hope for the economic recovery in the world’s second largest economy.

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 51.0 for August, above the 50 level that indicates expansion, and its highest mark since February. 

However, the private survey data stood in contrast to the official PMI, which came in 49.7 on Thursday, suggesting contraction.

Lululemon impresses with a "solid start" to its third quarter

In corporate news, Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) stock soared premarket after the workout gear maker said its third-quarter was off to a "solid start" thanks to strong demand in North America.

Additionally, personal computer manufacturer Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) raised its annual forecast for revenue and profit as it benefits from the artificial intelligence boom, while chipmaker Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) forecast current-quarter revenue below expectations on softening enterprise demand.

Crude gains with producers set to extend output cuts

Oil prices rose Friday, on course to register strong weekly gains on optimism that the group of major crude producers will extend output cuts to the end of the year.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Moscow had reached a new deal with its peers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, to further cut supplies, and will outline more reductions in production next week.

The reductions will likely add to ongoing supply cuts by Russia and Saudi Arabia, presenting a tighter supply outlook for the rest of the year. 

By 06:45 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 1.2% higher at $84.63 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.2% to $87.86. 

Both contracts were up more than 4% this week, breaking a two-week losing streak, with the U.S. contract in particular benefiting from a substantially larger-than-expected draw in U.S. inventories.

Additionally, gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $1,970.55/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher to 1.0848.

(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)

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