The non-farm payrolls data is keeping traders on the tenterhook and the index futures point to a negative opening on Friday. The caveat here is the the market mood could quickly pivot to positivity if the job gain comes in line with expectations. Following the data, traders get to hear from two Federal Reserve officials, possibly the last ones ahead of the Sept. 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee Meeting, given the blackout period starts on Saturday.
The market direction depends on which worries the traders the most – a slowdown or the rate trajectory. If the job gains grossly disappoint just as its ADP counterpart did, the odds of a 50 basis-point could be in play. But it remains to be seen whether a weak job market would be considered a reason good enough to liquidate risky bets. The CBOE Volatility Index, commonly called the VIX, spiked by over 13%.
On the corporate front, Broadcom Corp.’s (NASDAQ:AVGO) soft guidance is weighing down on the chipmaker’s stock and that of its peers as well.
Futures
Performance (+/-)
Nasdaq 100
-1.12%
S&P 500
-0.63%
Dow
-0.33%
R2K
-0.51%
In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) plunged 0.61% to $546.24 and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) slumped 1.05% to $456.21, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
U.S. stocks went about in a listless manner on Thursday as traders digested a weak ADP private payrolls number, fairly in-line initial jobless claims data and better-than-expected service sector activity readings. After a negative open, the major indices recovered and ...
