Jobless claims ahead, GameStop sales miss estimates - what's moving markets
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures hover around both sides of the flatline, as markets geared up for fresh labor market data that could help indicate how the Federal Reserve will approach its future interest rate decisions. Elsewhere, GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares slip after the video game retailer and meme stock darling posted lower-than-projected quarterly net sales, while China's exports rise in November.
1. Futures mixed
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the highly-anticipated monthly non-farm payrolls report later this week.
By 05:10 ET (10:10 GMT), the Dow futures contract had dipped by 66 points or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were broadly unchanged, and Nasdaq 100 futures had inched up by 30 points or 0.2%.
The main indices on Wall Street ended in the red on Wednesday, with traders attempting to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy. The benchmark S&P 500 shed 0.4%, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down by 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.6%.
Prior to closing, equities oscillated between small gains and losses after data showed that private payrolls grew by less than expected in November. When paired with news of a drop in October job openings earlier this week, the figures suggested that the Fed's aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes may be working to cool labor demand, a trend that theoretically could relieve some upward pressure on the policymakers' ultimate target: elevated inflation.
2. Jobless claims ahead as employment report looms large
Investors are preparing to closely parse through the remaining batch of labor market numbers this week, including jobless claims on Thursday and the
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