U.S. stock futures are trending lower early Friday as markets await the release of July jobs data and as President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline looms. These macroeconomic fears have overshadowed the rally from Big Tech earnings. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were down 1.19%, 0.86%, and 0.98%, respectively, at 4:38 a.m. EST on August 1.
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In Thursday’s trading session, the S&P 500 continued its third consecutive day of decline, ending down 0.4%. The SPX and the NDX had rallied to intraday highs yesterday before ending the session lower, battered by economic concerns after June’s core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index reading came ahead of consensus estimate with a 2.8% year-over-year increase. The Dow Jones fell 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite closed marginally down.
For the month of July, all three major indexes ended in positive territory. The S&P 500 closed the month up 2.2%, the Nasdaq rose 3.7%, and the Dow saw a minor gain of 0.1%.
After the markets closed yesterday, Amazon (AMZN) stock dropped over 7% after the e-commerce giant reported solid Q2 results but issued weaker-than-expected operating income guidance for the third quarter. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) shares jumped 2% after the company beat both earnings and sales estimates for Q2, driven by strong iPhone sales.
Looking ahead, investors await a key report on July’s jobs data, which is likely to indicate a slowing labor market. Experts predict the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%. This figure will also influence the FOMC’s interest rate decision in September. A slowing job market could prompt the Fed to hold rates steady for longer.
Turning to earnings season, energy majors such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and pharmaceutical giant Moderna (MRNA) are set to report before the bell.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is up, floating near 4.38%. WTI crude oil futures were trending higher, hovering near $69.38 per barrel as of the last check. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. Dollar Price decreased to nearly $3,338 per ounce on Friday.
Elsewhere, European stocks opened in the red today, after Trump sent letters to pharmaceutical companies demanding cheaper prices for prescription drugs in the U.S. Letters were sent to major drug companies, including AbbVie (ABBV), AstraZeneca (AZN), Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY), and Pfizer (PFE), among others.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Lower Today
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly down on Friday as investors digested the news of Trump’s modified tariff rates on countries, ranging from 19% to 40%. The White House also announced an additional 40% tariff on goods that have been transshipped to avoid applicable duties.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.07%. In China, the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.37%, while the Shenzhen Component declined 0.05%. Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.66%, while the Topix ended up 0.19%.