Stock futures exhibited minimal variation in anticipation of the June jobs report on Thursday, marking the concluding day of the holiday-shortened trading week, as oil prices persisted in their downward trajectory. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 experienced declines of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, whereas futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw an increase of 0.1%. The stock and bond markets will be closed on Friday in observance of Independence Day. Bond markets will close at 2 p.m. today in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. Today, market participants are anticipating the release of the Bureau of Labour Statistics’ June employment data at 8:30 am. Analysts anticipate that the forthcoming report will indicate that U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in June, reflecting a deceleration from the 172,000 jobs created in May. The unemployment rate is anticipated to remain at 4.3% for a fourth consecutive month, which is considered relatively low in historical context.

Ahead of the data, the 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, was approximately 4.50%, reflecting an increase of more than one basis point from Wednesday’s close. Oil prices experienced a further decline on Thursday, as global benchmark Brent crude futures decreased by 1.5% to $70.50 a barrel, following a dip to their lowest level since late February, just prior to the military actions taken by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, declined by 1.5% to $67.60 a barrel. Yesterday, the major stock indexes concluded the trading session in the red, marking the onset of the second half of the year, largely due to a decline in chip stocks. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite and benchmark S&P 500 concluded the day with declines of 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively, as semiconductor manufacturers such as Micron Technology and Intel experienced significant drops of over 10% and 9%, respectively.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its intraday record high, established last Thursday, before concluding the day with a slight decline. Most of the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks indicated a positive trajectory before the market opened, following a Wednesday where all but Nvidia concluded in positive territory. Shares of Meta Platforms ticked higher after leading the group with a nearly 9% rise yesterday following a report indicating that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is developing a cloud business to offer AI computing power. Alphabet stock declined 1% premarket after the European Court of Justice upheld a fine on Google of about 4.1 billion euros for alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

Shares of Tesla, another Mag 7 firm, ticked higher ahead of its expected release of second-quarter production and deliveries figures. Tesla is anticipated to announce Q2 deliveries of 402,800 vehicles, alongside production figures of approximately 479,300 vehicles, reflecting increases of about 5% and 17% year-over-year, respectively, according to estimates from Visible Alpha. Bitcoin recently traded around 61,100, up from overnight lows around 59,500. Gold futures declined by 0.2%, settling at $4,075. The U.S. dollar index, which monitors the value of the greenback relative to a selection of foreign currencies, experienced a decline of 0.3%, settling at 101.05.