Stock futures exhibited minimal fluctuations on Friday in anticipation of the forthcoming August jobs report, while major indexes are on track to achieve a second consecutive week of gains. The U.S. stock and bond markets will observe a closure on Monday in observance of the Labour Day holiday. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indicated increases of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, whereas futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a rise of 0.1%. Yesterday, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite, blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, and benchmark S&P 500 experienced gains exceeding 1% each, driven by a decline in Treasury yields. This shift followed remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, which heightened investor optimism regarding the central bank’s potential to refrain from raising interest rates in the near term. It marked the second consecutive day of increases for the major indexes, with the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow now reflecting respective gains of 0.7%, 0.5%, and 0.2% for the week as they approach Friday’s session.

Investors will direct their attention today to the Bureau of Labour Statistics’ 8:30 a.m. release of the August employment report. Economists anticipate that the U.S. economy has added 53,000 jobs during the month, thereby recovering the losses incurred in July when employers eliminated 23,000 positions. The unemployment rate is anticipated to remain at 4.1%, which is comparatively low when viewed through a historical lens. Ahead of the report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and auto loans, was at 4.76%, down one basis point from Thursday’s close. Traders currently assign a 52% probability to the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates during its September meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. On Wednesday, the 10-year yield reached its highest intraday level since November 2023, driven by concerns regarding persistent inflation, partly attributed to elevated oil prices. Crude prices, which have experienced a notable increase this week due to military strikes exchanged between the U.S. and Iran, remained relatively stable on Friday. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate prices experienced a decline of 0.3% in recent trading, settling at $91 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, regarded as the global benchmark, saw a slight decrease of 0.1%, priced at $95.45. Lululemon Athletica shares plunged 19% in premarket trading after the athleisure company issued a weaker-than-expected outlook for the current quarter. In other post-earnings movements, Guidewire Software experienced a decline of 15%; Asana saw a decrease of 12%; UiPATH retreated by 10%; Zscaler fell by 4%; Samsara surged by 13%; Planet Labs increased by 10%; and Docusign recorded a slight uptick. Tesla shares pointed 2.5% lower after the EV maker unveiled its cybercab yesterday. They had risen approximately 5.5% yesterday in anticipation of the event. The other Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks exhibited a mixed performance prior to the market opening, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF declining by 0.2%. Nvidia was up about 1% after leading the Dow with a 3% gain Thursday following the acquisition of open-source AI platform Hugging Face for nearly $13 billion by the world’s most valuable public company. Memory stocks advanced before the bell, with Sandisk, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital rising up to 3%.

The Roundhill Memory ETF and the broader iShares Semiconductor ETF experienced an increase of approximately 2% each. Elsewhere, Adobe shares were down 3% before the bell after the company named Anil Chakravarthy its new CEO, effective Dec. 1. The stock has experienced a minor decline this year, reflecting concerns regarding the influence of artificial intelligence on the company’s software products. Bitcoin recently was at $80,900, down slightly over the past 24 hours but near its highest level since May. Crypto-tied stocks Robinhood Markets, Strategy, and Coinbase Global experienced a slight decline following their substantial double-digit gains on Thursday. The U.S. dollar index, which monitors the value of the greenback relative to a selection of foreign currencies, registered an increase of 0.2%, reaching 99.07. Gold futures experienced a decline of 0.6%, settling at $4,510 per ounce.