Payrolls Data
Nasdaq 100 futures (NDX:IND) jumped 1% and SPX was up 0.6%. Dow futures (INDU) rose 0.04% after Apple’s (AAPL) poor China results limited advances.
January payrolls highlighted.
Later in the afternoon, the closely watched monthly employment data will provide a snapshot of the U.S. labor market, which could influence when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates.
The U.S. economy is anticipated to add 187,000 jobs in January, down from 216,000 in December, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.7%.
This follows a surprising jobless claims increase and a dismal private payrolls data.
Payrolls falling might signal that the Fed’s 525 basis points of rate increases since 2022 are finally biting, bringing a March rate decrease back into play.
Traders have been delaying bets on U.S. rate reduction this year, but evidence of labor market softening would sustain the present pricing of over 140 basis points by year’s end.
Meta and Amazon excel, Apple falters.
Three mega-cap growth and technology stocks that have driven markets upward for much of the year reported after Thursday’s market close, with different affects.
Meta Platforms and Amazon’s shares rose $280 billion in after-hours trade after their quarterly earnings thrilled investors, while Apple’s fell $70 billion.
Meta’s December quarter revenue rose 25% due to strong advertising and device sales, and the Facebook owner issued its first dividend.
Amazon performed well as cloud expansion and online spending increased over the holiday shopping season.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) predicted a dip in iPhone sales and $6 billion in revenue below estimates, signaling that its flagship product is losing ground in China.
The value of Nvidia rose in January.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock demand this month showed optimism about AI’s influence on corporate bottom lines.
In January, the world’s most valuable chipmaker’s market worth rose to $1.52 trillion, exceeding May 2023’s $248.23 billion gains.
Nvidia dominates the advanced AI chip industry and wants to mass produce a Chinese-specific processor later this year to meet with tougher U.S. export laws.
Economic Calendar
08:30 AM Nonfarm Payrolls for January …est. +180K
08:30 AM Private Payrolls for January …est. +155K
08:30 AM Manufacturing Payrolls for January …est. +5K
08:30 AM Unemployment Rate for January …est. 3.8%
08:30 AM Average Hourly Earnings M/M for January …est. +0.3%
10:00 AM Factory Orders M/M for December …est. +0.2%
10:00 AM Durable Goods Orders M/M for December
10:00 AM University of Michigan Confidence, Jan-Final …est. 78.9
01:00 PM Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data.
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