The S&P and Nasdaq are headed for higher opens, too
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading above fair value, putting the blue-chip index on track to add to its impressive weekly gain, but have eased back from their earlier highs following this morning's nonfarm payrolls report. Data from the Labor Department showed the U.S. added 130,000 new jobs in August -- fewer than economists were expecting -- while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, and annual wage growth slipped to 3.2%. Elsewhere, investors will be monitoring an afternoon appearance by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who's set to talk about monetary policy in Zurich. Futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are up, too, signaling a third straight win for the U.S. stock market.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.2 million call contracts traded on Thursday -- the most since June 21 -- compared to 641,162 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.53, while the 21-day moving average dipped to 0.70.
- Docusign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) stock is trading up 22.1% ahead of the bell, putting the shares on track to open near three-month highs at $56.35. This comes after the document software specialist reported a second-quarter revenue beat and upwardly revised its full-year forecast. A handful of bull notes have come through, too, including an upgrade to "outperform" at Wedbush.
- Domo Inc (NASDAQ:DOMO) is staring at significant pre-market downside, after the cloud concern cut its full-year revenue guidance and forecast a wider-than-anticipated per-share loss. This is offsetting a small-than-expected second-quarter loss and revenue beat, and has sparked negative analyst attention, namely a downgrade to "neutral" at Credit Suisse. DOMO stock is off 35.6% at last check, set to open near $16.25 for the first time since early December.
- Telenav, Inc. (NASDAQ:TNAV) stock is 13.6% higher in electronic trading, after the navigation services specialist said its contract with General Motors (GM), which runs through model year 2025, will not change after the automaker inked a contract with Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google to begin using its navigation technology in 2021. TNAV stock plunged 44.8% yesterday when news of the GM-Google deal hit, settling at six-month low of $5.79.
- Following today's jobs report and Powell speech, all eyes will be on a pair of inflation updates next week ahead of the September Fed meeting.
Trade Buzz Fueled Upside for Asian Stocks
Asian markets finished in the black on news that the U.S. and China will resume trade negotiations, with the Commerce Ministry in Beijing touting an October meeting between the two countries. The Shanghai Composite in China ended 0.5% higher, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was able to tack on 0.7%, brushing off a credit rating downgrade to "AA" from "+AA" by Fitch on the grounds of recent political tumult and external trade headwinds. Elsewhere, the Nikkei in Japan added 0.5% on mixed household spending data, while South Korea's Kospi saw a 0.2% gain.
European stocks are mixed at midday. Amid continued Brexit anxieties, the London FTSE 100 is inching below breakeven with a 0.04% loss, as oil stocks and miners pace the decline on global demand concerns. The French CAC 40 is eking out a 0.1% win as investors await U.S. payrolls data, while the German DAX has added 0.6%.