US stocks: Futures threaten choppy session as jobs report nears
New York (Aug 6) Wall Street was poised for another volatile session on Thursday, with stock futures bouncing around levels little changed from the prior session, as investors continued to gauge whether incoming data strengthen the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike.
Jobless-claims data due out premarket are likely to be viewed in that context. But the main focus is still the top-tier jobs report on Friday, which traders have been waiting for all week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU5, +0.18% fell 7 points to 17,468, setting it on track for a sixth day of losses. The blue-chip benchmark closed lower for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, weighed by a 9% loss for Walt Disney Co. DIS, +0.62% which came on the back of a mixed earnings report.
Futures for the S&P 500 index ESU5, +0.22% added 0.70 point to 2,094.50, while those for the Nasdaq-100 index NQU5, +0.28% put on 4.50 points to 4,598. Both benchmarks closed higher after a choppy session on Wednesday, when conflicting economic data created mixed expectations for the timing of the first Fed rate rise.
Jobs data: Yesterday’s ADP private-sector employment report signaled a slowdown in jobs growth, raising concerns about the strength of the nonfarm-payrolls report out on Friday.
“Although we’ve argued for a number of times that the ADP’s survey has lost some of its charm, it does suggest that the consensus forecast for tomorrow’s nonfarm payrolls, at 225,000, may be a bit too rosy. [A rate hike in] December it is, then?” said analysts at Rabobank in a note on Thursday.
A reading on jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 1 is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. They are expected to rise to 270,000 from 267,000 the previous week, according to economists polled by MarketWatch.
Earnings: Reporting ahead of the bell, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. SEAS, -1.58% is forecast to report second-quarter earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue of $397 million, according to an average of estimates from analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Fashion company Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. KORS, +7.75% reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, sending shares 5% higher in premarket action.
New York Times Co. NYT, +0.08% is slated to report second-quarter earnings of 11 cents and revenue of $383 million.
And after the market closes, fried-chicken chain Bojangles’ Inc. BOJA, -2.36% which went public in May, will report, along with pharma Allergan PLC AGN, +1.70% and game developer Zynga Inc. ZNGA, +0.80%
Movers and shakers: Shares in Mondelez International Inc. MDLZ, +6.93% were up 7.2% in premarket trading after activist investor Bill Ackman said he has built a $5.5 billion stake in the maker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers.
Shares of Keurig Green Mountain Inc. GMCR, -30.18% sank 30% ahead of the bell after the coffee-machine maker late Wednesday reported a drop in sales and announced job cuts.
Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA, -6.60% slumped 5.3% premarket after the electric-car manufacturer topped Wall Street expectations for quarterly results, but forecast it would sell fewer cars this year than previously estimated.
Fitbit Inc. FIT, -10.75% shaved off 11% ahead of the market open, even as the wearable tech company late Wednesday reported first-quarter results that blew past expectations.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. CF, +1.80% said is a sealed a deal to takeover Dutch fertilizer per OCI NV OCI, +6.88% to create a global nitrogen heavyweight.
Other markets: European stocks SXXP, -0.35% were mixed, with Greece’s Athex Composite GD, +3.27% rebounding after sliding for three days in a row. Read: Greek banks plunge 64% in three days
Shares in China SHCOMP, -0.89% declined as investors continued to worry about Beijing’s measures to support the country’s stock market.
Oil prices continued to slide, with the crude benchmark CLU5, -0.75% falling below $45 a barrel. Most metals rose, while the ICE Dollar index DXY, +0.20% was little changed.
Source: MarketWatch
