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Traders on the floor of the NYSE, June 1, 2023.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures inched higher in overnight trading as traders looked ahead to Friday’s May jobs report.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 42 points, or 0.13%, while S&P 500 futures added 0.1%. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.13%.
Lululemon shares popped 13% after the bell on strong results and a guidance boost, while MongoDB surged 22% on a blowout forecast.
Stocks kicked off the new trading month on a positive note. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.99% and 1.28%, respectively, to settle at their highest levels since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 153.3 points, or 0.47%.
Overarching debt ceiling concerns eased on Thursday. The House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act in a 314-117 vote late Wednesday, just days before the June 5 deadline set by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Fear that the U.S. may default on its obligations if lawmakers failed to reach an agreement rattled some investors earlier in the week.
“I do think markets were pretty savvy this time: They kind of priced in some sort of resolution, but because we’re taking a tail risk off the table, we’re getting a bit of relief here,” said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
Investors may also be finding some solace in the likelihood of very limited economic impact from the recent debt ceiling fiasco and a cap on spending that appears unlikely to weigh on economic growth in a “meaningful way,” she added.
With much of the debt ceiling drama in the rear-view mirror, investor attention pivots toward Friday’s jobs report. Recent data paints a strong labor market despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hiking plan, with more than 80% of the prints since January 2022 surpassing estimates.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect that growth eased in May over the previous month, with 190,000 jobs added versus the 253,000 gained in April. That would mark the lowest monthly gain since December 2020.
As the week draws to a close, both the S&P and Nasdaq are on track to finish with modest gains of 0.37% and 0.97%. The Dow sits 0.1% lower for the week as of Thursday’s close.
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