(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Thursday as weak economic data last week left investors cautious ahead of a new jobs report that will be closely watched for further clues about the health of the U.S. economy.
Large-cap and growth stocks rose and fell in premarket trading, adding to pressure from the previous day’s session, in part because weak demand for a $42 billion offering of 10-year notes pushed up Treasury yields.
Global markets have been hit by heightened volatility this week as the Japanese yen strengthened on gloomy economic reports and the unwinding of currency carry trade positions after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates on July 31.
This adds importance to the weekly jobless claims data, due to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show a slight decline in the number of Americans who applied for state unemployment insurance in the week ending Aug. 3.
“U.S. weekly jobless claims will be very sensitive given growing expectations that the Fed will cut rates relatively aggressively through the end of the year,” said Mark Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services.
JPMorgan raised the chance of the U.S. falling into recession by the end of this year to 35% from 25% as labor market pressures ease.
According to CME’s FedWatch tool, short-term money markets currently see a 71.5% chance of the Fed cutting rates by 50 basis points in September, with two more cuts possible by the end of 2024.
Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Thomas Barkin, who will be speaking at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, will also be closely watched for clues about the U.S. central bank’s next move.
As of 4:52 a.m. ET, the U.S. S&P 500 E-mini was down 5.25 points (0.1%), the Nasdaq 100 E-mini was up 10.75 points (0.06%) and the Dow E-mini was down 60 points (0.15%).
On the revenue front, Bumble sharply cut its full-year revenue growth outlook on Wednesday, raising concerns among investors about the dating app operator’s growth plans and sending the company’s shares down 35% in pre-market trading.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares fell 11.8 percent after the company wrote down the value of its TV assets due to uncertainty over fees from cable and satellite distributors and renewal of sports rights.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun HK)
