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U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Monday trading, while Treasury yields slipped and the dollar held steady, as investors looked to the first week of a new trading month focused on a string of labor-market data releases and the chances of an autumn rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
Stocks ended May on a mixed note as well as the S&P 500 and the Dow posted closing gains while the Nasdaq wrapped up its worst weekly decline of the year. Investors took profits from tech stocks but still left the index with a quarterly gain of 2.17%.
With nearly all the S&P 500 reporting first-quarter earnings over the past six weeks, Wall Street’s focus will shift to the labor market, with updates on job openings, ADP’s National Employment report and the crucial May nonfarm-payrolls reading slated for Friday, June 7.
Analysts expect the economy added around 185,000 new jobs last month, a nudge higher from the 175,000 tally in April, with unemployment holding at 3.9%.
Following on from Friday’s softer-than-expected April PCE inflation report, markets will be keen to see any related slowing in the job market, and the corresponding impact it will have on the Fed’s new growth and inflation forecasts. The central bank will publish those after its next policy meeting on Wednesday, June 12.
A series of job market updates could have a big influence on the Fed’s next set of growth and inflation forecasts,
Traders at present see little to no chance of a Fed rate move over the summer, but they currently peg the odds of a September rate cut at around 54%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch.
Related: The Fed doesn’t want to talk about stagflation. It might not have a choice.
Benchmark 2-year note yields were last seen trading at 4.868% heading into the New York session, while 10-year notes eased to 4.475%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.08% higher at 104.754.
On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is up just 0.44% for the quarter, suggest a 10-point opening-bell gain while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are priced for a 27-point pullback.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is set for a 76-point advance, thanks in part to early gains for Nvidia (NVDA) , Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Tesla (TSLA) .
Meme stocks are also back in the spotlight. The influential retail trader Keith Gill, better-known as Roaring Kitty, unveiled a $116 million position in GameStop (GME) over the weekend.
GameStop shares were last marked 71% higher at $39.60 each while AMC Entertainment (AMC) surged 26% to $5.45 each.
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In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.47% in early Frankfurt trading with traders focused on a likely rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.17% higher in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.13% in Tokyo while a stronger-than-expected reading for May factory activity in China helped the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index rise 1.96% into the close of trading.
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