U.S. stocks looked set to edge higher on Thursday as investors shied away from making any big moves ahead of crucial jobs data that will show how the labor market held up over months of tariff-fueled chaos.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 48 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were flat.
The three blue-chip indexes had risen early Wednesday, then lost some steam after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book showcased some pessimism seeping into the economy. But the crunch moment is likely to come tomorrow, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics set to publish the May nonfarm payrolls report. It’ll be a big test for the market, which surged last month despite ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
“The bulls are well and truly back in the driving seat,” Michael Brown, a strategist at the foreign exchange brokerage Pepperstone, writes. “This is, quite clearly, an equity market that wants to rally; a market that is happy to look through the to-and-fro on tariffs, so long as the direction of travel remains towards deals being done.”
While stock futures were pointing to a quiet session early Thursday, there’s always a chance that fresh news–or Truth Social posts–about the Trump administration’s levies could drive bigger market moves.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped 1 basis point to 4.35% on Thursday. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a weighted basket of six other currencies, edged up 0.1%.
