【US Pre-Market】Gold Hits $4,300 Mark, AI Chip Stocks Rebound as Non-Farm Payrolls in Focus

TradingKey - On Friday (August 7) Eastern Time, futures on the three major U.S. stock indices rose slightly in premarket trading as the market awaits the U.S. July non-farm payrolls report. Investors remained cautious ahead of the non-farm payrolls release following a pullback in U.S. stocks overnight.

As of press time, Dow futures rose 0.11%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.56%.

Performance of the three major U.S. stock index futures, Source: Investing

In commodities, gold ( XAUUSD) rose nearly 1.8%, climbing to around $4,320; international oil prices fell back slightly after rising in the previous trading session, with WTI ( USOIL) crude falling about 1.6% to around $76.9; Brent crude dropped about 1.3% to around $81.9. The Middle East situation remains the core variable for oil price volatility, with the market focusing on whether the regional conflict will expand following the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, as well as the progress of negotiations between Iran and Oman over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin ( BTC) fluctuated around $64,900, up about 1% on the day. Ahead of the non-farm payrolls data, the crypto market overall maintained narrow fluctuations as investors wait for the impact of the employment data on the Federal Reserve's policy path and risk asset valuations.

Market Moves

Airbnb ( ABNB) rose over 7% in premarket trading. The company's second-quarter revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $3.61 billion, with net income at $816 million and adjusted EBITDA rising 21% to $1.3 billion. Airbnb also raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to the "mid-double-digit" range, demonstrating resilient travel demand. The company stated that booking growth accelerated in both core and expansion markets, while AI tools are also improving user conversion and operational efficiency.

Most leading chip stocks strengthened in premarket trading. Nvidia ( NVDA) edged up 0.4% in premarket trading, while AMD ( AMD) rose over 1%, and Intel ( INTC) gained 1.3%. Ahead of the release of July non-farm payrolls, funds continued to trade around AI computing power, server CPUs, and data center demand.

The storage sector recovered in premarket trading. Micron Technology ( MU) rose about 1.6% in premarket trading, and Western Digital ( WDC) rose nearly 2%. Previously, SanDisk and Western Digital were sold off following their earnings reports, reflecting high market expectations for the AI storage supply chain; some storage stocks stabilized premarket today, showing that funds are still assessing the support of AI demand for DRAM, NAND, and data center storage prices.

Large-cap tech stocks traded steadily in premarket trading. Tesla ( TSLA) rose nearly 0.7% in premarket trading, Amazon ( AMZN) rose about 0.5%, Alphabet ( GOOGL) ticked up, and Microsoft ( MSFT) slipped slightly. The market remained cautious ahead of the release of the non-farm payrolls report, with overall volatility for leading tech stocks being limited.

Market News

The U.S. July nonfarm payrolls report is about to be released. The U.S. Department of Labor will release the July employment data at 8:30 AM ET. The market expects nonfarm payrolls to increase by 85,000, higher than the 57,000 in June; the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.2%, and average hourly earnings are expected to grow by 0.3% month-on-month.

Houthi forces attack Saudi Arabia, raising risks of regional conflict once again. Saudi authorities stated that the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis launched an attack that injured 11 civilians. Despite reports that Iran and Oman are close to reaching an agreement on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the market remains concerned that the Middle East conflict could expand and disrupt crude oil shipping.

Trump to meet with mining executives to promote critical mineral supply chains. The White House plans to convene executives from mining companies including Rio Tinto ( RIO ), BHP ( BHP ), Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX) and MP Materials ( MP) and other mining company executives to discuss defense supply chains and critical mineral security.

Meta ( META) ordered to pay over $900 million in child safety-related funds. According to reports, a New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay over $900 million for programs and penalties related to harm caused to minors by Facebook and Instagram.

Key Data and Events Preview

At 8:30 AM ET on August 7, the U.S. will release July nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, average hourly earnings, the labor force participation rate, and average weekly hours.

At 10:00 AM ET on August 7, Fed official Barkin will deliver a speech.

At 3:30 PM ET on August 7, the U.S. will release CFTC positioning data.