Stock futures slightly lower as Wall Street awaits jobs report
Stock futures opened slightly lower Thursday evening as traders awaited the Labor Department’s October jobs report, which will offer another update on the state of the economic recovery.
Contracts on the S&P 500 edged down. Earlier, the blue-chip index rallied to a record high, logging a sixth straight record close as technology stocks advanced. The Nasdaq also jumped amid the broad move higher in tech shares, while the Dow closed lower for the first time in six sessions.
Wall Street will turn its focus on Friday to the Labor Department’s October jobs report, which is expected to show a pick-up in job growth after a disappointing September for rehiring.
Consensus economists are looking to see non-farm payrolls rise by 450,000 for last month, compared to the just 194,000 brought back in September. The unemployment rate likely dipped to 4.7%, or the lowest since March 2020. And average hourly earnings likely rose at a 4.9% year-on-year pace, with wages pushed higher as companies competed for workers amid widespread labor scarcities.
The October report will help show the extent of any lingering impacts from the Delta variant wave in late summer, and whether employers have begun to bring back more workers to help meet elevated demand and fill vacancies.
However, some economists suggested market participants may need to brace for another month of tepid job growth before the data begins to reflect a pick-up in rehiring.
“The continued sluggishness in payroll growth, relative to expectations during the summer, is a reflection of the damage done by the Delta COVID wave, which will prove temporary,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a recent note. “The trend in Delta cases peaked on September 1, but real-time indicators of economic activity continued to soften for a further two weeks before starting to nudge back up … That left no time for a revival in payroll growth in time for the October survey.”
And importantly for investors, the labor market data will provide further suggestions at whether the economic has sufficiently recovered to warrant a more hawkish tilt by the Federal Reserve.
The central bank opted earlier this week to announce the start of its asset-purchase tapering program, but declined to offer specifics for the dollar amount of further tapering next year or the timing of interest rate hikes. The Fed noted that those would depend on how the economic recovery unfolded. And in his post-FOMC meeting press conference on Wednesday, Powell also noted that there was “still ground to cover to reach maximum employment both in terms of employment and in terms of participation.”
Meanwhile, investors also eyed the latest set of earnings results from some closely watched companies. Shares of Peloton (PTON) slumped in late trading after the at-home fitness equipment company offered a disappointing forecast for the current quarter and slashed its full-year guidance, suggesting more decelerating…
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