Sentiment continues to be cautious as traders play the “wait-and-watch” game until they see off Friday’s non-farm payroll data. The index futures traded moderately lower early Thursday. The weekly jobless claims data along with the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the status of the dockworkers strike are among the key focal items for traders. The S&P 500 has gained in all but one month so far this year and the momentum is supporting the market even as it navigates through another air pocket centered this time mainly around geopolitics.
Oil’s extended run could keep energy stocks buoyant and artificial intelligence stalwart Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) traded higher in premarket, while electric-vehicle stocks have decelerated.
Futures | Performance (+/-) |
Nasdaq 100 | -0.44% |
S&P 500 | -0.33% |
Dow | -0.36% |
R2K | -0.67% |
In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) moved down 0.30% to $567.15 and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) slipped 0.39% to $480.09, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
U.S. stocks closed Wednesday’s session marginally higher, as the market overcame early jitters set in motion by a stronger-than-expected private payrolls report and the ongoing headwinds such as the Middle East tensions and dockworkers’ strike. After recouping early losses, the averages moved in a narrow range around the unchanged line before ending slightly higher.
Index | Performance (+/) | Value |
Nasdaq Composite | +0.08% | 17,925.12 |
S&P 500 Index | +0.01% | 5,709.54 |
Dow Industrials | +0.09% | 42,196.52 |
Russell 2000 | -0.09% | 2,195.01 |
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, while energy stocks rallied strongly and IT stocks found moderate buying interest. Utility and financial stocks rose marginally.
Insights From Analysts:
The non-farm payrolls report due on Friday is expected to show job gains of 150,000 for September, up from 142,000 in August. JPMorgan Trading Desk predicts a volatile Friday, with the S&P 500 Index potentially moving either side of the flat line in a range of a 2% decline to a 1.5% gain depending on how the numbers pan out,
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Upcoming Economic Data:
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Bonds And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures continued their upward climb amid intensifying Middle East tensions, while gold futures fell modestly. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) declined over 1% below the $61K mark. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 2.4 points to 3.809%.
Most Asian retreated barring the Japanese, Australian, New Zealand and Malaysian markers, while China and South Korea were closed for public holidays. The major European markets lost ground in early trading.
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