Wall Street pointed to modest gains Thursday ahead of new data on the job market that could influence the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.2% before the bell, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%.
The US will release its weekly employment report on Thursday, followed by the Department of Labor’s closely watched monthly employment report for March on Friday.
After raising its benchmark lending rate to the highest level in more than 20 years, the Fed has paused rate hikes for the past five meetings as inflation has retreated significantly from its highs of more than 9%.
U.S. central bank officials say three interest rate cuts this year are still possible, which would ease pressure on the economy and boost stock prices. But Fed officials have said they will only do so if they see further evidence that inflation is falling toward their 2% goal.
The overall U.S. economy has held up better than expected since the Fed began raising interest rates in March 2022 in an effort to cool demand and the labor market. Although some big-name companies have recently announced layoffs, jobs remain plentiful and the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 25 months, the longest period since the 1960s.
In early trading Thursday, Levi Strauss jumped 12.3% before the bell after it beat Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit expectations and raised its 2024 profit outlook.
Conagra, a major processed foods company, also beat analysts’ expectations. Shares of the Chicago-based maker of Duncan Hines and banquet products rose 3.2% in premarket after Thursday’s earnings report.
Elsewhere in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up more than 0.4% as of midday, while France’s CAC 40 index and Germany’s DAX index were virtually flat.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 39,773.14. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,817.30. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.3% to 2,742.00.
Analysts say Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC)’s facilities will receive relief sooner than expected, potentially allaying fears of production shutdowns after Wednesday’s strong earthquake killed at least nine people. It states that there is. Taiwan and China also closed trading due to national holidays.
“Market participants took comfort in last night’s weaker-than-expected U.S. Services Purchasing Managers Index, which offset a surprise pick-up in manufacturing activity earlier in the week,” Yep said. “This suggests that overall demand may still be subdued by the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat inflation.” Jun Long, a market analyst at IG, said:
Also boosting stocks was a recent report from Japan’s leading trade union federation that wage increases remained strong in this year’s negotiations, with an average increase of more than 5%, the highest in 30 years.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 3 cents to $85.40 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard crude, rose 2 cents to $89.37 per barrel.
In currency trading, the dollar rose slightly from 151.65 yen to 151.75 yen. The euro rose to $1.0853 from $1.0837.
