Stock futures rose on Friday as traders anticipated that an unexpected loss in the latest jobs report will leave the Federal Reserve on hold with interest rates.
Nasdaq 100 futures led gains, rising 0.8%, and S&P 500 futures advanced 0.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 110 points, or 0.2%.
July’s nonfarm payrolls report showed a drop of 23,000, while economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a gain of 83,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% as the labor force participation rate fell to its lowest level in more than five years. Economists had expected it to remain unchanged at 4.2%.
Airbnb shares rallied 7% in premarket trading after the vacation rental company posted a beat on the top and bottom lines. Cloudflare surged 16% in premarket after the cloud cybersecurity company issued a solid full-year and current-quarter outlook.
Oil prices, meanwhile, ticked lower on Friday. West Texas Intermediate futures for September delivery were off 0.6%, trading at $76.85 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 0.7% to $81.90.
Wall Street is coming off a losing session, as an increase in oil prices weighed on equities. The Dow fell more than 460 points, or 0.9%, breaking a five-day winning run. The S&P 500 slid 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%.
Stocks are still headed for a second straight week of gains. The Nasdaq could post its best weekly performance since May, thanks to a bounce-back in chip stocks. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is higher by more than 5% this week.
In spite of the U.S. pullback, the market outlook has brightened on many parts of the Street this week. Investors are hopeful that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will eventually bring down oil prices and curb inflation expectations.
Tech has outperformed — with semiconductors rallying this week — after last month’s unwinding of the momentum trade convinced many the stock market got the reset it needed for the next leg higher. Strong earnings only add to the recent confidence.
“There’s going to be a chase,” Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “I think that chase takes us towards 7,900, 8,000″ this month.
July nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly contract by 23,000 jobs
July nonfarm payrolls contracted by 23,000 jobs, far below the 83,000-job addition that Wall Street had expected before the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
The unemployment rate came in at 4.1% against economists’ estimate going into the number for an unchanged rate of 4.2%.
The percentage of the population working or looking to work, the so-called labor force participation rate, dipped to 61.4% in July from 61.5% in June.
26 Min Ago
What to expect from the upcoming July jobs report
Job growth isn’t expected to show much improvement in July, with payrolls and the unemployment rate likely holding relatively steady and economists looking through the headline numbers for further clues about labor market health.
Nonfarm payrolls are expected to post a gain of just 83,000, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%. That would come off a slow June, which saw an increase of just 57,000 jobs.
Outside the headline numbers will come important indicators about the general strength in the job market — specifically, participation in the labor force, wage growth and the sectors that are driving the labor market now.
All that will paint an important picture for Federal Reserve officials, who lately have been expressing both a great deal of confidence in the labor market and worry enough about inflation to float the possibility of interest rate hikes sometime soon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/06/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
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