Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on September 03, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stock futures were rose slightly on Thursday as traders awaited the release of new U.S. jobs data, following a session in which Alphabet lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 4 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
Shares of Broadcom were up almost 1% in premarket trading ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings release, scheduled for after market close Thursday.
The ADP private payrolls report is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect private employers added 75,000 jobs in August, down from 104,000 jobs previously. The latest jobless claims data — set for release at 8:30 a.m. — is expected to show a slight uptick.
Those reports come ahead of Friday’s big jobs report, which will determine the near term outlook for a stock market that has been on edge.
Wall Street is coming off a mixed session. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted solid gains thanks to tech. On the other hand, the blue-chip Dow, known for its greater exposure to the real economy, dipped 0.05%.
The bifurcated performance follows strong gains for Alphabet and Apple shares, which bolstered the tech sector, after the Google parent avoided a breakup in an antitrust case that had weighed on the stocks. However, any gains in the equity market were curbed by further signs of weakness in the labor market. On Wednesday, the latest job openings data showed listings fell to levels rarely seen since the height of the pandemic.
“I do expect those pressures to gain momentum over the end of this year, but I doubt we have a meaningful problem for the market rally until after the holidays,” Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday.
“The reason is that I think there’s still time for the price pressures — for example, ‘no hire, no fire’ economy — to really weigh on what has otherwise been a fairly constructive picture,” Goodwin added.
Traders are also turning their eyes to Washington for the latest on trade, after President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to quickly rule on an appeal that would overturn lower court decisions that deemed most tariffs illegal.
Those on Wall Street will also be eyeing the release of August’s ISM non-manufacturing PMI reading, due out at 10 a.m. ET. Economists are expecting a reading of 50.8, up from 50.1 in the prior period.
