Traders at work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, November 10, 2022.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Thursday night US stock futures edged higher as investors preempted Friday’s December jobs report. Strong employment data earlier in the day hinted at further rate hikes to come, thus leading to lower key averages.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 22 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.13% and 0.17% respectively.
During Thursday’s regular session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 339.69 points, or 1.02%. The S&P 500 fell his 1.16% and the Nasdaq Composite closed his 1.47%. A stronger-than-expected ADP private payroll report was released on Thursday, weighing on major indices.
Recession concerns continued to loom over investors as they pondered whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) could survive a soft landing in its fight against inflation.
“I believe we could be in recession by the end of the year, and that recession could be driven by Fed tightening, the QT, quantitative tightening, a stronger dollar, or oil prices,” Omega said. Leon Cooperman of his family’s office said Thursday he appeared on CNBC’s “Closing His Bell: Overtime.”
“In the event of a recession, the market would stop falling and drop 35% from its peak, which would be in the low $3,000s,” added Cooperman.
Traders expect the December jobs report before Friday’s bell. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the US to add 200,000 jobs last month. This means a slowdown from the previous month’s gains. A better-than-expected report showing a resilient labor market could mean the Fed must step up its efforts to keep inflation in check.
Stocks are headed for losses in the first trading week of 2023. As of Thursday’s close, the Dow is down 0.66% in a week so far and heading into his fourth week of decline in five weeks. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.82% and 1.54%, respectively, marking their fifth straight week of decline.
