June 5, 2024 – Stock futures saw a slight uptick on Tuesday night as investors anticipated the release of private payroll data and assessed the latest corporate earnings reports.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 92 points, or 0.24%. S&P 500 futures increased by 0.19%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed by around 0.32%.
In after-hours trading, Hewlett Packard Enterprise surged more than 16% after exceeding Wall Street expectations for its fiscal second-quarter earnings. CrowdStrike also saw a notable gain, jumping almost 7% on stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance.
These movements followed a modest yet positive day on Wall Street. The Dow climbed approximately 140 points, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both added nearly 0.2%.
Tuesday’s session marked the beginning of several key data releases offering insights into the labor market, a critical area for traders seeking signals that the Federal Reserve might start easing its economic tightening measures. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported 8.059 million vacancies in April, the lowest in over three years and below the 8.4 million forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Attention now shifts to the ADP employment report, due Wednesday morning, which is expected to show that private employers added 175,000 jobs in May, according to Dow Jones estimates.
Additionally, traders will keep an eye on the services and nonmanufacturing purchasing data due on Wednesday. This will be followed by weekly jobless claims numbers on Thursday and the crucial May jobs report on Friday.
“Upcoming labor market releases are a clear focus for the broad market,” said Bill Northey, investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “Investors are eyeing the most recent readings on labor market health — JOLTS today, the ADP survey tomorrow, and the [Bureau of Labor Statistics] labor report on Friday. All are important data points from a monetary policy standpoint.”
On the earnings front, discount retailer Dollar Tree is set to release its results before the market opens, while athleisure company Lululemon will report its earnings after the market closes.
