Stocks lost direction on Thursday as anticipation grew ahead of tomorrow’s key jobs report. Labor market updates this week have stoked hopes of a rate cut in September, making Friday morning’s release of the latest jobs data even more important.
But today, attention is focused on the weekly number of jobless claims. Ministry of LaborInitial jobless claims rose by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 last week, the highest level in a month and above economists’ expectations.
Investors are hoping the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, following the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank, which announced their first rate cuts this week. FedWatchToolsFutures traders do not expect the Fed to change interest rates. Federal Funds Rate The chances of a September rate cut, as expected at the June and July meetings, have risen to 57% from 45% last week.
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Jose TorresThe senior economist at Interactive Brokers expects the monthly jobs report to be weaker than expected, “with a headline of 165,000 jobs, wage growth of 0.3% and the unemployment rate rising to 4%.” However, he added, the numbers will likely “further support expectations of a rate cut.”
Lululemon Rise After Earnings, Five Below Stumbles
In individual stock news, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) stock price is a sports apparel manufacturer. Exceeding sales and profit expectations The company announced a $1 billion capital raise in the first quarter. Share buybacks program.
“While the company has experienced slowing growth in the Americas, we continue to believe LULU is a top player in apparel retail and expect growth to accelerate across the Americas and continued success in China (+45% in Q1) and internationally,” CFRA Research analysts said. Zachary Waringmaintained its “strong buy” rating on the stock. Consumer Discretionary Stocks.
Five Below (Five) shares were among the biggest fallers on Thursday, with the discount retailer’s shares falling 10.6%. First quarter results fell short of expectations The company also significantly lowered its full-year outlook, citing “poor performance among low-income earners.”
Elsewhere, Microsoft (MSFT) shares erased losses from the previous day to close up 0.1%. The stock was in the spotlight today, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Whether the tech giant structured its recent deal with start-up Inflection AI to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
Salesforce leads Dow as ValueAct increases stake
MSFT is not the best stock on the Dow Jones today. That honor goes to Salesforce (CRM) rose 2.6% on news that ValueAct Capital increased its stake in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
be Regulatory filings The activist investor bought an additional 428,000 shares of CRM stock after the company’s share price plummeted following the earnings release, according to a statement late Wednesday. ValueAct now owns 3.9 million CRM shares.
CRM stock price rises Dow Jones Industrial Average It rose 0.2% to 38,886. S&P 500Meanwhile, it fell 0.02% to 5,352. Nasdaq Composite Index It fell 0.09% to 17,173.
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