Stock futures were flat Thursday as Wall Street looks to regain momentum after a rocky start to September and awaited key labor market data.
Futures for the S&P 500 were up marginally, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered near the flatline. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 50 points.
Tesla rose about 3% before the bell after the electric vehicle maker said it plans to launch its full self-driving driver assistance software in Europe and China early next year. Frontier Communications dropped nearly 10% after Verizon said it would buy the company in a $20 billion deal. Verizon added 1%.
The premarket moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each closed lower for the second straight session, dipping 0.16% and 0.30%, respectively. The Dow squeezed out a gain of 38 points, or 0.09%, on Wednesday.
All three averages are down for the week, with key employment reports looming. Investors will sift through weekly jobless claims data Thursday morning, ahead of Friday’s keynote August nonfarm payrolls report.
The market has appeared to be sensitive to potential growth scares in recent weeks, including Tuesday’s sell-off on the heels of weak manufacturing data. That puts heightened scrutiny on upcoming labor market data.
“While incoming data is mixed, it is not collapsing, and the global cutting cycle should help the economy achieve a soft landing, extending the cycle into 2025,” said Barclays’ Emmanuel Cau.
Although the U.S. economy remains on track for a “soft landing” scenario, ongoing market turbulence isn’t out of the question in the near term.
“We see this as a broadly positive environment for equities, but a lot is arguably priced in, and there are a number of wildcards to get through,” Cau added.
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