The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.1% in May
Stock futures are eyeing a modest open higher this morning, looking to pare yesterday's losses. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are all poised for comfortable gains amid encouraging jobs data for May. The U.S. added 559,000 jobs last month, lower than the 671,000 estimate but a healthy figure compared to April's. Investors are also cheering the unemployment rate, which fell to a better-than-anticipated 5.8% from 6.1%.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Buy the dip on Microsoft stock.
- Options bulls blasted General Motors stock amid record highs.
- Plus, DOCU boosted after earnings; Analyst drops BBBY coverage; and FIVE jumps after upbeat forecast.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.3 million call contracts traded on Thursday, and 948,892 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.41 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.51.
- DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) stock is up 6.3% in pre-market trading, after the company reported much better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of 44 cents per share, and revenue in line with estimates. To follow, Citigroup raised its price target to $288, while both Wedbush and Oppenheimer cut their price targets to $260, and J.P. Morgan Securities cut theirs to $255.
- In a rare move, Bank of America Securities dropped its coverage on Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBY). As the equity is one of the recent "meme stocks," the firm no longer sees the stock as trading on fundamentals. At last check, BBBY was up 0.3% in electronic trading.
- Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) is up 6.8% before the bell, after the department store name announced better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and an upbeat forecast. No fewer than six analysts raised their price targets in response, with the highest from Jefferies to $300.
- Today will bring nonfarm payrolls, a monthly unemployment rate update, average hourly earnings data, and factory orders numbers.
Stocks Mostly Lower in Europe, Asia
Asian markets settled mostly lower on Friday, with the exception of the Shanghai Composite in China, which tacked on 0.2%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng dropped 0.2%, dampened by losses from Alibaba (BABA), which dropped even after its offshoot, Ant Group, gained approval to run a consumer finance company. Investors are also monitoring U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to expand restrictions on American investments in a number of Chinese companies with suspected military and surveillance ties. Elsewhere in the region, the Nikkei in Japan dropped 0.4%, and the South Korean Kospi fell 0.2%.
Over in Europe, the major bourses are struggling to gain traction, as investors eye an upcoming labor report in the U.S., which could be a deciding factor in several major inflation decisions both in Europe and abroad later this month. The London FTSE 100 is the biggest loser so far, off 0.2%, while the French CAC 40 is down 0.02%. The German DAX, meanwhile, is clinging to a 0.04% gain.