Stocks were headed for gains early Thursday ahead of jobs numbers that could give the market a better sense of how the U.S. economy is faring.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures also added 0.1%, while contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%. Both gauges closed at record highs Wednesday, powered higher by enthusiasm about President Donald Trump’s trade deal with Vietnam.
The blue-chip indexes were ticking up as investors waited for the June nonfarm payrolls report, due out at 8.30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists are expecting the report to show 115,000 jobs added, according to a FactSet poll, which would mark a slowdown from May’s 139,000.
The data matter because investors are still trying to figure out how tariffs are impacting the economy. They got a scare on that front Wednesday, as human resources management software provider ADP said its tally on private payrolls declined unexpectedly in June.
Investors will also be keeping a close eye on how Trump’s signature tax and spending bill is doing in the House, with a group of Republican lawmakers threatening to sink the legislation.
Trade will remain in focus, too as the president’s July 9 deadline for tariff deals looms. Washington on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that would lower tariffs on goods imported to the U.S. from there to 20% from 46%. Trump said on Tuesday that a deal with India was progressing but any concessions for Japan were unlikely and mooted a 35% levy on the country’s goods.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped 2 basis points to 4.26% early Thursday. Gold prices climbed 0.2% to $3,368 an ounce, and a gauge tracking the dollar against a basket of other currencies was flat.
