Stock Futures Fall After Strong Jobs Report

Stock futures are relatively lower today, as Wall Street digests a key jobs report. Specifically, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are off around 120 points, after June payrolls increased by 372,000, beating economists' estimates by more than 120,000 and indicating another month of strong hiring. The upbeat jobs report now has many that are confident the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep its promises regarding more aggressive interest rate hikes, which has been weighing on the major benchmarks. Meanwhile, futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are suffering a notable pullback of their own, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is slightly below breakeven, risking a slip from its best winning streak since March.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Which steel company just secured a billion-dollar acquisition.
• Why pessimism may unwind for this food stock.
• Plus, GameStop's c-suite shakeup; unpacking Levi Strauss' earnings; and the latest Twitter buyout update.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.3 million call contracts and 748,906 put contracts traded on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.57, and the 21-day moving average rose to 0.65.
2. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) was last seen down 5.1% in premarket trading, after the company fired Chief Financial Officer Mike Recupero. In an internal memo, the video game retailer went on to tell employees that it is cutting staff in order to turn its business around. Should these losses hold, GME will move cross back over the -10% year-to-date level.
3. Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) is 3.9% higher in electronic trading, after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter. In addition, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 20%. At least two analysts cut their price targets on LEVI, and year-over-year the equity remains 41.5% lower. 
4. Elon Musk's attempt to buy Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) may be in trouble, according to a report from the Washington Post. Those familiar with the patter say that Musk is skeptical of the figures the company has provided regarding spam accounts, though officials have defended the numbers. TWTR was last seen 3.5% lower ahead of the open, and sports a 10.3% year-to-date deficit.
5. More employment-related indicators are expected today. Nonfarm payrolls data is on tap, in addition to an unemployment rate update, average hourly earnings, and the labor force participation rate. A wholesale inventories revision is also on the docket.

Asian Markets Higher Despite Former Prime Minister's Assassination  

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday, despite news that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated at a campaign event for the country’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Investors were also eyeing key employment data out of the U.S., with fears of an economic slowdown capping those gains. Nonetheless, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4%. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei was 0.1% higher, and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.3%.

Stocks are mixed across the pond, though European markets remain on track for solid weekly wins. Investors are still unpacking stateside payrolls data, while digesting a slide for the sterling after the resignation of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. At last check, the German DAX is up 0.9%, France’s CAC 40 is 0.2% higher, and London’s FTSE 100 is eyeing a 0.5% drop.