U.S. Stock Futures Mixed; Jobs Data In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade on Friday ahead of the much-awaited jobs report for July. Investors are awaiting earnings results from Western Digital Corporation WDC, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company GT, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation WAB and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL.

Analysts expect a 250,000 rise for nonfarm payrolls growth in July, compared to June's gain of 372,000 jobs. The unemployment rate, however, is projected to remain unchanged at 3.6% in July. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while data on consumer credit for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 32,701.00 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 0.75 points to 4,151.50. Futures for the Nasdaq index fell 7.25 points to 13,319.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $94.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.4% to trade at $94.59 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, with total infections in the country exceeding 93,739,660 with around 1,057,810 deaths. India reported a total of at least 44,107,580 confirmed cases, while France confirmed over 33,993,930 cases.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index fell 0.2%. The French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5%, while German DAX slipped 0.2%.

Payroll employment in the French private sector increased 0.5% to 20.70 million in the second quarter, while industrial production in Germany increased by 0.4% month-over-month in June. The Halifax house price index in the UK rose 11.8% year-over-year in July

Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.87%, while China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 1.19% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.14%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6%, while India’s S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.1%.

The Reserve Bank of India increased its key repo rate by 50 bps to 5.4% at its recent meeting. Foreign exchange reserves in Japan climbed to $1,323,034 million in July from $1,311,254 million in the prior month. The index of coincident economic indicators in Japan rose to 99.0 in June versus a final reading of 94.9 in the previous month, while index of leading economic indicators slipped to 100.6 from 101.2. Household spending in Japan increased by 3.5% from the prior year during June.

Broker Recommendation

Piper Sandler upgraded Kellogg Company K from Underweight to Neutral and announced a $74 price target.

Kellogg shares rose 0.6% to $74.27 in pre-market trading.

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Breaking News

• DoorDash Inc DASH reported better-than-expected sales results for its second quarter, with revenue surging 30% year-over-year to $1.61 billion. The company also said it expects full-year marketplace gross order value of $51 billion to $53 billion. However, net loss came in wider than analysts’ expectations
• Hywin Holdings HYW announced plans to acquire a controlling interest in Beijing iLife3 Technology Co. Ltd to expand into health management industry.
• Lyft Inc LYFT reported upbeat results for its second quarter. Lyft saw active riders of 19.9 million last quarter, up 15.9% year-over-year. Revenue per active rider was $49.89 in the second quarter, up 11.8% year-over-year.
• Atlassian Corporation Plc TEAM reported upbeat revenue for its fourth quarter.

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