U.S. stock futures swayed between small gains and losses early Friday as the government’s key employment reading kept investors seeking monetary policy clues on edge.
The Labor Department is set to release its latest monthly jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect U.S. payroll gains totaled 260,000 in September, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.1%, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ticked up by the same margin. Technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) futures were down 0.4%.
Stocks closed the previous trade lower for a second straight day after a blowout two-day rally faltered. Still, the major averages remain firmly off 2022 lows and are on pace to close the week on a positive note.
Investors are betting that signs of a cooling labor market will force Federal Reserve policymakers to change course on their aggressive rate-hiking path, particularly after a series of weaker economic releases showed a drop-off in manufacturing activity and fewer job openings. But many Wall Street strategists have argued that hopes of an imminent pivot are premature.
In recent research notes, JPMorgan analysts said that equity bulls would need a monthly payroll print as low as 100,000 to see the market alter its Fed expectations, while analysts at Bank of America said a pivot won’t occur “until payrolls sting.”
“The Fed’s job is still far from over: expect hikes to continue until negative payrolls are almost in hand,” a team at BofA led by rates research strategist Meghan Swiber noted.
Moreover, Federal Reserve officials themselves have delivered clear messaging in recent weeks that there are so far no plans to retreat from aggressive policy intervention.
“We have further to go,” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Thursday, indicating the benchmark rate will likely be at 4.5% to 4.75% by the spring of 2023. “”Inflation is high right now and we need a more restrictive setting of monetary policy.”
U.S. crude oil futures continued this week’s climb on the heels of the heftiest OPEC+ production cut since 2020. DataTrek Research noted that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at more than $85 per barrel will prolong positive energy inflation trends until at least the start of 2023. The firm also noted that oil prices are an “underappreciated fulcrum issue” for the Federal Reserve and the market’s expectations of near-term economic growth. WTI futures traded around $89 per barrel early Friday.
Elsewhere in markets, chipmakers were under pressure Friday morning after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) lowered its third-quarter revenue guidance and warned of “significant” inventory corrections across the PC supply chain. Shares were down roughly 6% pre-market. Also weighing on the sector was Samsung reporting its first profit decline since 2019, another sign of a troubled chip market.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) was also a mover Friday after the retailer cut its guidance, citing headwinds from a stronger dollar, slowing consumer demand and persistent supply chain snafus. The stock was down around 5% in trading before the bell.
Meanwhile, shares of DraftKing (DKING) jumped nearly 8% after Bloomberg News reported Thursday that ESPN is nearing a large new partnership deal with the sports-betting company, citing sources familiar with the agreement.
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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
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