A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Lower; All Eyes On Jobs Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade ahead of the key jobs report for May. US jobs report for May is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect nonfarm payrolls rising 650,000 in May following April's increase of 266,000. The unemployment rate is likely to drop to 5.9% from 6.1%. Data on factory orders for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at 7:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points to 34,519.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 2.75 points at 4,188.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 6.25 points to 13,523.00.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 33,326,410 with around 596,430 deaths. India reported a total of at least 28,574,350 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 16,803,470 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $71.63 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $69.11 a barrel. US crude oil inventories dropped 5.1 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.4% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. The IHS Markit Eurozone construction PMI rose to 50.3 in May from 50.1 in April. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction PMI climbed to 64.2 in May, while new car registrations surged to 156,737 units in May. French construction PMI increased to 51.1 in May from 49.8 in the earlier month, while German construction PMI slipped to 44.5 from 46.2.

Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.21%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.17%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.3%. The Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark repo rate at 4% during its latest meeting. Household spending in Japan climbed 13% from a year ago in April.

Broker Recommendation

Keybanc maintained Asana, Inc. ASAN with an Overweight and raised the price target from $40 to $48..

Asana shares rose 8.8% to $40.01 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Slack Technologies Inc WORK swung to a profit in the first quarter, while sales also exceeded market estimates.
• Broadcom Inc AVGO posted better-than-expected results for its second quarter and issued strong revenue forecast for the current quarter.
• Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU reported upbeat results for its first quarter and issued strong guidance for FY21.
• Apple Inc AAPL is planning to launch a new line of iPad Pro with wireless charging in 2022 and a redesigned iPad mini — a first in six years — later this year, Bloomberg reported.

Check out other breaking news here