Stock futures are little changed Friday morning as investors await the highly anticipated release of monthly employment data that will factor into the Federal Reserve’s decision-making on interest rates.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were each up 0.1% recently. The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Wednesday for the third time in the last four days. The major indexes enter the final trading day of the week—markets close early today and will be shut on Friday for the July 4 holiday—on track to post weekly gains.
Market sentiment has been boosted by hopes the Trump administration will reach trade agreements ahead of a July 9 deadline to re-impose hefty tariffs on leading trading partners. Investors have also become increasingly hopeful that the Fed will be in a position to cut interest rates soon.
The June jobs report, slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, is a key data point the Fed will be watching as it considers whether to cut rates. Economists expect the report from the Labor Department to show that a U.S. employers added 110,000 jobs last month, a slowdown from May, while the unemployment rate is estimated to have inched higher to 4.3%. A weaker-than-expected jobs report would likely boost expectations that the Fed will cut its benchmark rate again soon, though the central bank has said it needs to see more data on how tariffs affect inflation before adjusting policy.
Market participants are also monitoring developments related to trade talks, after President Donald Trump said yesterday that the U.S. had reached an agreement with Vietnam, where many U.S. companies have a large manufacturing presence. Investors are also keeping an eye on the House of Representatives, where legislators are getting set for a final vote on the GOP’s massive tax and spending bill.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have helped pace the recent rally, were mixed in premarket trading though the moves were modest. Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) inched higher, while Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG) and Broadcom (AVGO) fell slightly.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on a wide range of consumer and business loans, was at 4.26% this morning, down from 4.29% at yesterday’s close. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.1% to 96.85, still trading near its lowest levels since early 2022.
Bitcoin was at $109,600, after surpassing the $110,000 level this morning for the first time since June 10. The digital currency isn’t far from its all-time high of around $112,000.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were down 0.2% at $67.30 per barrel in recent trading, while gold futures slipped 0.1% to $3,355 an ounce.