Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the latest economic releases were updated in the story.
U.S. stock futures were swinging on Thursday following Wednesday’s mixed moves. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed.
The U.S. job market’s growth nearly halted in August, with the economy adding a mere 22,000 nonfarm payroll jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Friday, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%.
Despite the hiring slowdown, average hourly earnings saw a modest increase, rising 0.3% to $36.53. This brings the year-over-year wage growth to 3.7%, signaling continued upward pressure on pay even as the overall job creation has flattened since April.
Investors and economists are bracing for another weak print in Friday’s non-farm payrolls report, with the consensus looking for just 75,000 new jobs in August.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.16% and the two-year bond was at 3.59%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates for the Sept. 17 decision.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.02% |
| S&P 500 | 0.22% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.48% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.14% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.29% at $650.99, while the QQQ advanced 0.72% to $579.43, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed positively, with industrials, communication services, and consumer discretionary stocks posting the biggest gains on Thursday. However, utilities stocks bucked the market trend, ending the session lower.
This broad rally was driven by signs of a cooling labor market in August, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its Sept. 17 meeting.
Meanwhile, Science Applications International Corp. (NASDAQ:SAIC) stock dropped 6% after its second-quarter 2026 earnings report.
Economic reports bolstered the case for a rate cut. The ADP National Employment Report revealed only 54,000 jobs were added in August, a steep fall from 106,000 in July and …