Dow Jones futures move little as traders adopt caution ahead of US labor data, along with ISM Services PMI.
Tech stocks led gains after Alphabet avoided a breakup in an antitrust case.
The Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to review a tariff case, seeking to overturn lower court rulings.
Dow Jones futures remain steady near 45,300 during European hours on Thursday, ahead of the opening of the United States (US) regular markets. Moreover, the S&P 500 futures edge higher 0.15% to trade above 6,450 the Nasdaq 100 futures advance 0.20%, trading around 23,500.
US stock futures show mixed performance, following a choppy Wall Street session. Traders adopt caution ahead of Thursday’s weekly Initial Jobless Claims, the ADP Employment Change, and the ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), seeking fresh cues on the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy outlook in September. Attention will shift toward Friday’s data, including US Nonfarm Payrolls expected to add about 75,000 jobs in August, while the Unemployment Rate is expected to be seen at 4.3%.
On Wednesday’s regular session, the Dow Jones eased 0.05%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.51% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.02%. Tech stocks led gains after Alphabet, Google’s parent, escaped a breakup in an antitrust case. A US federal judge ruled that Google will not be required to sell its Chrome browser but must share data with competitors.
Market sentiment remains positive amid rising Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut bets, driven by the weaker-than-expected July JOLTS Job Openings, which declined to 7.18 million from 7.35 million, marking the weakest level since September 2024 and missing forecasts of 7.4 million. The CME FedWatch tool indicates pricing in more than 99% of a 25-basis-point (bps) rate cut by the Fed at the September policy meeting, up from a 92% chance a day ago.
Traders may look for further developments on the legality of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to review the case of imposed tariffs, seeking to overturn lower court decisions that found most of his tariffs are illegal. Trump has placed tariffs on imports at the core of his trade policy, according to a report by CNBC.
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