\n<\/p>\n
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to regain ground after moving mostly lower over the two previous sessions.<\/p>\n
The futures reached new highs for the day following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched report on employment in the month of July.<\/p>\n
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment fell by 23,000 jobs in July after rising by a downwardly revised 20,000 jobs in June.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected employment to climb by 88,000 jobs compared to the addition of 57,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
While the report points to some weakness in the labor market, the data has also eased concerns about the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates next month.<\/p>\n
Treasury yields have moved sharply lower in reaction to the report, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note tumbling by more than 1.2 percent.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in July from 4.2 percent in June. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.<\/p>\n
Following the lackluster performance seen for much of Wednesday’s session, stocks continued to experience choppy trading on Thursday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 spent most of the day lingering near the unchanged line, although the narrower Dow showed a more notable move to the downside.<\/p>\n
The major averages all finished the day in negative territory. While the Dow slumped 464.02 points or 0.9 percent to 53,885.10, the S&P 500 dipped 13.59 points or 0.2 percent to 7,709.96 and the Nasdaq edged down 15.09 points or 0.1 percent to 26,348.35.<\/p>\n
The pullback by the Dow, which ended the previous session at a new record closing high, partly reflected a steep drop by shares of Salesforce (CRM).<\/p>\n
Salesforce plunged by 3.2 percent after a report from CNBC said the cloud-based software company announced it will name former Oracle (ORCL) executive Miguel Milano operating chief.<\/p>\n
Dow components Boeing (BA) and Honeywell (HON) also tumbled by 3.3 percent and 3 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n
The choppy trading by the broader markets<\/span> came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report.<\/p>\n Ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 1st.<\/p>\n The Labor Department said initial jobless claims inched up to 199,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 198,000.<\/p>\n Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 202,000 from the 197,000 originally reported for the previous week.<\/p>\n Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, telecom stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside after falling sharply on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index spiked by 3.1 percent to a one-month closing high after tumbling by 2.5 percent in the previous session.<\/p>\n Oil service stocks also saw significant strength amid a sharp rebound by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surging by 3 percent.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the jump in oil prices contributed to considerable weakness among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.<\/p>\n Housing and brokerage stocks also showed notable moves to the downside after trending higher over the past few sessions.<\/p>\n Commodity, Currency Markets<\/b> <\/p>\n Crude oil futures are falling $0.29 to $77 a barrel after surging $2.07 to $77.29 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slipping $5.60 to $4,299.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are spiking $119.80 to $4,419.40 an ounce.<\/p>\n On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.25 yen versus the 158.42 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1577 compared to yesterday’s $1.1536.<\/p>\n Asia<\/b><\/p>\n Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as uncertainty prevailed over a possible agreement between the United Sates and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and investors awaited U.S. jobs data that could prove pivotal for next month’s interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n Middle East tensions flared again following attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a military camp in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia, a major oil supplier.<\/p>\n The dollar headed for a weekly gain against major peers amid a resurgence in geopolitical and trade tensions.<\/p>\n Gold climbed toward $4,300 an ounce and was set for its biggest weekly gain since January.<\/p>\n Brent crude futures surged toward $84 a barrel, building on the previous session’s gains on growing doubts over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 1 percent to 3,940.04 after customs data showed China’s exports grew 23.9 percent in U.S. dollar terms in July from a year earlier, beating forecasts on rising global demand for high-tech components.<\/p>\n Imports rose 27.5 percent, slowing from June’s 36 percent jump – the quickest in five years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 0.5 percent at 25,668.03.<\/p>\n Japanese markets ended slightly lower due to declines in AI and chip-related stocks, with SoftBank falling 2.5 percent and Kioxia Holdings losing 2.1 percent.<\/p>\n The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 65,606.71 in directionless trade, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.5 percent higher at 4,074.93.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks ended lower for a second day running amid Middle East tensions and lingering concerns over the artificial intelligence (AI) trade.<\/p>\n The Kospi Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 6,258.77, after having slumped 4.6 percent in the previous session dragged down by losses in technology<\/span> stocks. Among the prominent decliners, Lotte Shopping plummeted 12.9 percent and SK Hynix tumbled 4.9 percent.<\/p>\n Australian markets finished marginally lower, easing from record highs ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest-rate decision due next week.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P\/NZX-50 Index slumped 1 percent to 13,824.13.<\/p>\n Europe<\/b><\/p>\n European stocks are mostly higher on Friday as investors monitored oil price movements and the U.S. jobs report for additional clues on the Fed’s rate trajectory.<\/p>\n Brent crude futures surged toward $83 a barrel, building on the previous session’s gains amid doubts over ongoing efforts to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies.<\/p>\n In economic news, German industrial production logged a monthly growth of 0.2 percent in June, following May’s revised 0.7 percent increase, Destatis reported. Output was expected to remain flat in June.<\/p>\n U.K. house prices posted flat growth in July, following a 0.2 percent rise in June amid a more uncertain economic backdrop, according to data published by Lloyds Banking Group.<\/p>\n While the German DAX Index is up by 1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent.<\/p>\n German reinsurer Munich Re fell 2.8 percent despite posting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Likewise, Allianz dropped 1 percent after announcing its financial results.<\/p>\n Daimler Truck Holding slumped 4.2 percent on reporting an 18 percent drop in its second-quarter profit.<\/p>\n Specialty chemicals company Lanxess plunged nearly 5 percent after reporting a wider-than-expected Q2 net loss.<\/p>\n U.S. Economic News<\/b><\/p>\n A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed employment in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of July.<\/p>\n The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment fell by 23,000 jobs in July after rising by a downwardly revised 20,000 jobs in June.<\/p>\n Economists had expected employment to climb by 88,000 jobs compared to the addition of 57,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in July from 4.2 percent in June. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.<\/p>\n At 10 am ET, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin is due to participate virtually in fireside chat on the economy<\/span>, leadership, and the evolving role of the Federal Reserve before an event hosted by the National Association for Business Economics.<\/p>\n The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on consumer credit in the month of June. Consumer credit is expected to increase by $10.5 billion. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n