On Monday, June 27, 2022, a trader is seen walking on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, America.
Following a Wall Street rally, stock futures declined early on Friday as investors awaited Friday’s important jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 91 points, or 0.29 percent. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.44 percent, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.36 percent.
After the bell, shares of Levi Strauss rose more than 3% as the retailer reported quarterly earnings that beat forecasts and increased its dividend.
When GameStop fired its chief financial officer and announced it would be making layoffs as part of a turnaround plan, the company’s stock dropped by about 5% in after-hours trading. A day after the video game retailer announced that its board had approved a 4-for-1 stock split, the stock saw a 15% gain during regular trading.
The S&P 500 posted a four-day winning streak on Thursday, matching its length for the year to date, according to Bespoke Investment Group, which was followed by futures trading. Currently, the index has decreased by about 19% since reaching an all-time high in January.
Regular trading saw gains led by energy stocks as the price of oil recovered from a recent decline. Exxon Mobil increased by almost 3.2 percent, and Occidental Petroleum increased by almost 4 percent. After Samsung reported impressive earnings, chipmakers gave the tech sector a boost.
According to Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat, “you just don’t see the capitulation just yet. I think there’s a little more that needs to happen between now and the July Fed meeting.” Mark Newton made this statement on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Thursday. He further stated that stock prices might decline as early as Friday’s session.
As the labor market defies any indications of an impending recession or economic slowdown, the June employment report, which is due on Friday, is anticipated to show another month of strong hiring. According to Dow Jones, economists anticipate that the U.S. economy added 250,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 3.6 percent.
Employers created 390,000 new jobs in May, which was more than economists predicted.
During this holiday-shortened week, the S&P 500 is up about 2%, and it’s on track to have its second positive week in the past three.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up 4.4 percent this week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.92 percent. Additionally, both indices are expected to have their second successful week in the previous three.