S&P 500 Futures Maintain Positivity Ahead of Jobs Release

U.S. stock index futures saw a modest rise on Friday morning prior to the release of the September jobs report.

What’s happening

• The YM00 contract, which represents futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose by 43 points or 0.1% and reached a level of 33,345.
• The value of ES00, which represents the S&P 500 futures, rose by 4 points or 0.1% and reached a total of 4,294.
• The Nasdaq 100 futures, represented as NQ00, experienced a 0.1% growth, causing a rise of 14 points to reach a value of 14,877.

On Thursday, there were small decreases in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones went down by 10 points (equivalent to 0.03%) and reached a value of 33,120. Similarly, the S&P 500 decreased by 6 points (or 0.13%) and settled at 4,258. The Nasdaq Composite also saw a decline of 16 points (or 0.12%) and fell to 13,220.

What’s driving markets

The upcoming release of the September U.S. employment data is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. According to economists, there is expected to be a rise of 170,000 job opportunities, resulting in an unemployment rate of 3.7%. This report holds importance as it is the last one to be released before the Federal Reserve announces its decision on interest rates on November 1st.

According to Henry Allen, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, today’s reading is extremely important in deciding if there is still a chance of a rate increase. The probability of a rate hike has been changing between above and below 50%, with the current probability at 38% this morning.

This week, the stock market experienced major ups and downs due to labor market information. At first, there was a significant drop in the market after a report showed an unexpected rise in job openings. However, it recovered when a subsequent report indicated a decrease in private sector payrolls from ADP. Later on, the market settled down once more after another disappointing report on weekly jobless benefit claims.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Exxon Mobil may purchase Pioneer Natural Resources for a staggering $60 billion. This news, along with the employment report, has the potential to influence the performance of energy stocks on Friday.

Single stock movers

• After an article in the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Exxon Mobil is closing in on a purchase agreement with Texan shale drilling company, Pioneer Natural Resources, for around $60 billion, Pioneer Natural Resources’ stock saw a noteworthy surge of 10%. Conversely, Exxon Mobil’s shares faced a decline of nearly 2%.
• Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. saw a decline in their stock prices following remarks from the CEO of Walmart Inc. in the United States. The CEO attributed this drop to the increasing popularity of weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, which have caused customers to buy fewer groceries and cut down on calorie-dense products.
• Levi Strauss & Co., a retail company, saw a decline of 2% in its stock value after declaring a decrease in projected earnings for the full year. The company’s leaders attributed this drop to continued poor performance in the wholesale division, specifically in the United States.
• After announcing price cuts for its Model 3 cars and Model Y electric vehicles in the US, Tesla saw a 1% decline in its stock. The price reduction entailed lowering the cost of the Model 3 cars from $40,240 to $38,990 and the Model Y electric vehicles from $50,990 to $45,990.
• The stocks of Philips PHG, +0.56% dropped by 8% due to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s demand for further testing of their sleep and respiratory devices, which had previously been recalled. This demand arose because of concerns about the foam used in the millions of recalled products.