U.S. stock futures were little changed early Thursday as traders braced for the release of June’s jobs report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the economy added 110,000 jobs last month, a significant decline from the 139,000 added in May. The unemployment rate is expected to inch higher to 4.3%, up from 4.2% in May.
Jay Hatfield, founder and CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, said, “[Thursday] could be a little dicey. The tradeoff between tech stocks being down and value going up — a lot of times the overall market will go down because tech stocks are 40% of the market.” He added that a disappointing report might prompt the Federal Reserve to consider an earlier rate cut, possibly as early as July. Thursday’s report follows data from ADP, which showed a significant decline in private payrolls last month.
Investors are also closely watching the progress of President Trump’s tax and spending megabill, which advanced in the House of Representatives with a 219-213 vote.
Markets anticipate upcoming jobs report
Thursday will see a shortened trading session, with the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq closing at 1 p.m. ET ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Friday.
Short interest in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 has risen steadily this year, according to S3 Partners. This trend indicates a potential reversal strategy, with investors selling into strength due to skepticism about the recent recovery. S&P 500 short interest as a percentage of total float has climbed above 5.8% from about 5.4% at the start of the year, while Nasdaq-100 short interest increased to approximately 6.1% from less than 5.2%.
Shares of Tripadvisor rose over 8% in extended trading following a Wall Street Journal report that activist investor Starboard Value has taken a stake of more than 9% in the online travel company. Datadog shares climbed 9% in after-hours trading after the announcement of its addition to the S&P 500 index. As of 6 p.m. ET Wednesday night, stock futures showed minimal changes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures adding 14 points, and S&P 500 futures climbing fractionally.
