(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Thursday as investors turned more cautious ahead of a new jobs report, closely watched for more clues about the health of the U.S. economy after weak economic data last week.
Mega-caps and growth stocks swung between gains and losses in pre-market trading, providing some pressure from the previous session, partly after Treasury yields rose on weak demand for a $42 billion sale of 10-year notes.
Global markets are seeing heightened volatility this week as dismal economic reports combined with the unwinding of currency carry trade positions pushed the Japanese yen higher after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates on July 31.
This has increased the importance of the weekly jobless claims data, which is released at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show a slight decline in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the week through Aug. 3.
“US weekly jobless claims will be highly sensitive given the positions built on expectations that the Fed will cut rates relatively aggressively toward the end of the year,” said Marc Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services.
JPMorgan has raised the probability of a US recession by the end of this year from 25% to 35%, citing easing pressure on the labour market as the reason.
According to CME’s FedWatch Tool, money markets currently estimate a 71.5% chance that the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points in September, with the possibility of two more cuts by the end of 2024.
Comments from Richmod Fed President Thomas Barkin, who is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, are also being watched for clues about the U.S. central bank’s next move.
At 4:52 a.m. ET, the U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 5.25 points, or 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 10.75 points, or 0.06%, and the Dow E-minis were down 60 points, or 0.15%.
Bumble on Wednesday slashed its annual revenue growth forecast, raising investor concerns about the dating app operator’s growth plans and sending shares down 35% in premarket trading.
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery fell 11.8% after the company wrote down the value of its TV assets amid uncertainty over fees from cable and satellite distributors and sports rights renewals.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun HK)
