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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade ahead of the release of jobs report for August. Analysts expect nonfarm payrolls rising 740,000 for August following monthly gains of 943,000 in July. The unemployment rate is projected to drop to 5.2% from 5.4%.

US composite PMI for August is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM's services index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45 points to 35,469.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 7 points to 4,542.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 14.25 points to 15,615.25.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 39,549,290 with around 643,660 deaths. India reported a total of at least 32,903,280 confirmed cases, while Brazil confirmed over 20,830,490 cases.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $73.39 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.1% to trade at $70.09 a barrel. US natural-gas supplies climbed 20 billion cubic feet 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 mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.2% and STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% while German DAX 30 gained 0.1%. Eurozone retail sales dropped 2.3% in July following a revised 1.8% gain in June, while composite PMI declined to 59.0 in August from a preliminary reading of 59.5. UK’s services PMI fell to 55.0 in August from a preliminary level of 55.5, while composite PMI declined to 54.8 from 55.3. French services PMI slipped to 56.3 in August from 56.8 a month ago, while government budget deficit increased to EUR 166.6 billion in January-July. Germany’s services PMI declined to 60.8 in August from a preliminary reading of 61.5. Spain’s services PMI fell to 60.1 in August from 61.9 in July.

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.05%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.72%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.43%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.5%. Indian services PMI surged to 56.7 in August from 45.4 in the prior month, while China’s general services PMI fell to 46.7 in August from 54.9 a month ago. Retail sales in Australia dropped 2.7% month-over-month in July, while services PMI declined to 42.9 in August from a preliminary reading of 43.3. Japanese services PMI slipped to 42.9 in August from the preliminary reading 43.5.

Broker Recommendation

B. Riley Securities downgraded Forte Biosciences, Inc. FBRX from Buy to Neutral and announced a $3 price target.

Forte Biosciences shares dipped 82% to $5.15 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• Broadcom Inc AVGO reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and issued strong sales forecast for the current quarter.
• Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is planning to launch Amazon-branded TVs as soon as October in the United States, according to a report by Business Insider.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views. The company also said it sees Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.44 to $0.52 per share.
• BBC and Netflix, Inc. NFLX formed a groundbreaking partnership to develop and co-produce shows from disabled creatives.

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