US stocks took a breather on Thursday after a winning session fueled by Big Tech, with more jobs data available to test investors’ growing hopes of lower interest rates.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) oscillated along a flat line on the heels of a record close. Contracts on the tech-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed.
Stocks are regrouping after the roaring rally that also took the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) to a record high on Wednesday. Tech stocks contributed to the gains, with Nvidia (NVDA) overtaking Apple (AAPL) as the second-largest U.S. company, both surpassing $3 trillion in market value.
Shares of AI chipmaker Nvidia continued to advance in premarket trading, up about 2%. But other mega-cap technologies faltered, with Apple, Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) losing ground slightly.
Meanwhile, Treasury yields have recovered from declines that supported stocks’ rally. The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) rose slightly to nearly 4.30%, coming from its lowest level since March hit on Wednesday.
The market welcomed recent disappointing economic numbers as reason to put a change in Federal Reserve policy back on the table, with ADP’s private sector wages missing just the latest sign of a labor market slowdown. Traders now see a 69% chance of a rate cut in September, up from around 50% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Learn more: How does the labor market affect inflation?
New data on jobless claims, job losses and labor costs, expected later Thursday, may come under closer scrutiny than usual as investors assess whether the Fed will achieve its desired soft landing for the economy. But the countdown is on for the May monthly jobs report released Friday, seen as crucial for stocks.
On the individual movers’ side, shares of Lululemon (LULU) jumped 9% in premarket trading after the athletic and casual wear maker upgraded its earnings outlook and share buyback program.
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