Stock Futures Bounce Back in Wait for Jobs News

New York (Sept 1)  Stock futures bounced back on Thursday as investors awaited data on the labor market ahead of Friday's release of the monthly U.S. jobs report.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.3%.

It's a busy day on the economic calendar with motor vehicle sales for August to be released throughout Thursday, and jobless claims for the past week, productivity and costs data for the second quarter, construction spending for July, and the ISM Index for August out during the morning.

The official jobs report for August, the most closely watched release of the month, will be out on Friday. Economists expect the pace of jobs growth in August to slow after blockbuster readings in June and July. Analysts at TD Securities expect 189,000 jobs to have been added to the U.S. economy, while the unemployment rate will dip to 4.8%. The U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July.

Stocks ended August on a dour note Wednesday as another selloff in crude oil pressured the energy sector and speculation over interest rates continued to cause jitters. The S&P 500 ended August with a slight monthly loss.

Source: TheStreet