S&P 500, Dow futures muted ahead of jobs data; chips, software stocks rise
Aug 7 (Reuters) – S&P 500 and Dow futures were little changed on Friday ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could influence the interest-rate outlook, while Nasdaq futures rose as Microchip Technology and Atlassian’s strong forecasts lifted chip and software shares.
Wall Street’s main indexes were headed for strong weekly gains, with the S&P 500 and the Dow set for their best week since April and the Nasdaq on track for its strongest weekly advance since May.
Stronger-than-expected results from AI-related companies this reporting season have propelled the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record highs, while helping the Nasdaq recover from a pullback that had briefly pushed it nearly 10% below its previous peak.
On Friday, collaboration software maker Atlassian jumped 28.5% in premarket trading and chip company Microchip Tech advanced 8.5% after both forecast quarterly revenue above estimates.
Cybersecurity company Cloudflare gained 15.6% after raising its full-year revenue forecast above estimates.
The reports also lifted the broader sectors, with chip stocks Marvell and Micron up 3.6% and 2%, respectively, while software stocks Palo Alto rose 3% and Service Now added 2.4%.
In a move to support more domestic production, the White House imposed a series of price floors and a 15% tariff on products made from polysilicon, the raw material used in semiconductors and solar panels that is primarily produced by China.
At 05:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 20 points, or 0.04%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 12.75 points, or 0.16%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 158.5 points, or 0.54%.
The Labor Department will release the non-farm payrolls figures for July at 8:30 a.m. ET and the economy is expected to have added 80,000 jobs, up from the 57,000 the month before. The unemployment rate and average annual earnings are expected to stay steady from the month before at 4.2% and 3.5%, respectively.
The Federal Reserve under new Chairman Kevin Warsh has offered investors little information on forward guidance regarding monetary policy, sharpening the focus on economic data and remarks from policymakers.
Probabilities for no change versus a rate hike in September are now closer to even, the CME FedWatch Tool showed. Last week, traders were pricing in a 37% chance for rates staying unchanged versus 63% for a rate increase.
Short-term Treasury yields, a reflection of short-term interest rate expectations, hovered above 4% as crude prices inched up above $83 a barrel, adding to inflation concerns.
Tensions flared up again after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia, while a report said Iran is reviewing a preliminary bill that would bar U.S., Israeli and other “hostile” vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz and would impose fines of up to 20% of a ship’s cargo value for violations of the proposed restrictions.
Vacation rental company Airbnb gained 8.8% after beating second-quarter revenue estimates, helped by strong global demand for travel and a boost from first-time users during the FIFA World Cup.
