US stock futures traded close to unchanged on Friday as investors awaited the latest employment data, a key release that could influence the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision. Markets were also monitoring renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following a fresh Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia, while reports suggested Iran and Oman are nearing an agreement over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
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The bond market is telling quite a tale for those willing to listen.

<body><p>STORY: Stocks fell Thursday, pausing after a strong start to the week.</p><p>The Dow dropped close to one percent. The S&P 500 slid about two tenths and the Nasdaq was basically flat.</p><p>Investors digested the latest round of corporate earnings and looked for signs of progress toward a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.</p><p>Strong corporate results so far have tempered some concerns about the massive spending by AI-related companies.</p><p>Ben McMillan, chief investment officer with IDX Advisors, says AI will likely continue to push stocks higher though investors have broadened their view of who is likely to benefit from the growth of the technology.</p><p>“So I think the AI trade broadly is still very much intact. I do think investors, and we're hearing this from our investors and others that we talked to, are going to be a little bit more discerning, they're going to be more judicious, they're going to start looking at maybe much more the picks and shovels plays we're hearing a lot more interest in things like you know uranium and power providers as you know an AI play as well as things like photonic stocks and you know not necessarily just betting on you know chips or semiconductors.”</p><p>Stocks on the move included data storage company Western Digital which tumbled 13% and memory chip maker Sandisk which dropped nearly seven percent in the wake of quarterly results. </p><p>Both companies have surged this year, however, with Sandisk up more than 400% and Western Digital up about 160%.</p><p>And SpaceX erased losses from earlier in the session and closed six percent higher, defying expectations that shares would be pressured by insider selling, as the lockup period for early investors holding the stock expired.</p><p>On the data front, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week. </p><p>The report came ahead of closely watched nonfarm payrolls figures for July due on Friday, which will shape expectations for the Fed's path of interest rates at a time when Chairman Kevin Warsh has scaled back on forward guidance from the central bank.</p></body>
A fragile breakthrough could reshape inflation and rate expectations
Dow Jones futures: The market pauses, but what happens next? Don't buy these AI stocks yet. Cloudflare, Sezzle lead big earnings movers late.
Thursday evening, MP Materials reported second-quarter Ebitda of $28.5 million, Wall Street was looking for $27.1 million.
Michael Reinking, Senior Market Strategist at the NYSE, reviews a pivotal week in which the S&P 500 broke above its May-July trading range near 7,600, driven by strong Q2 earnings, easing oil prices, and mispositioning in tech that sparked a broad-based rally. Hyperscalers led the charge as investors embraced the ongoing shortage of compute capacity, while semiconductors and optical stocks saw volatile swings amid eye-popping growth figures and sky-high expectations. Looking ahead, Friday's jobs report and next week's inflation prints take center stage, with reports suggesting Fed Chair Warsh could support a September rate hike should the data come in hot.
As SpaceX stock has tumbled since its record-setting IPO, shares of newly public smaller companies have soared.
Stocks are spitting out a smaller share of their returns in dividend income, a challenge for those who lean on steady cash flows to cover daily expenses. The trailing 12-month dividend yield on the S&P 500 is now hovering around a generational low of just over 1%, after trending downward for much of the past two decades.
Robust Q2 earnings momentum is likely to fuel a broader market rally. These ETFs are well positioned to benefit from the scenario.
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened lower on Thursday, weighed by a drop in technology stocks as strong forecasts from Western Digital and Sandisk failed to impress, while
Wall Street was predicted to see a mixed open on Thursday, as another batch of technology earnings undermines confidence and apparent progress towards an Iran deal raises fears of yet another false dawn. Dow Jones futures were up 57 points, or 0.1%, with the blue-chip index on course to build...
MPLX stock is worth a look, with an above-average yield as the company sees demand growth for energy products.
Treasury yields have given back some of their recent summer surge. What happens next will likely depend on the chances of a longer term peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran and the Federal Reserve’s reaction to Friday’s jobs report. Longer-dated 30-year paper, meanwhile, was marked at 5.176%, down around 8 basis points from last week’s peak of 5.25%, the highest since 2007.
Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) reported second-quarter results that exceeded its prior outlook, citing improved demand in its Discovery and Safety Assessment, or DSA, business and stronger-than-expected manufacturing performance. The company raised its full-year revenue, earning
Aug 6 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Dow futures were steady on Thursday after this week's record-breaking rally as investors awaited details on a Middle East peace deal, while Nasdaq futures slipped as
U. S. stock index futures traded with little direction on Thursday as investors monitored diplomatic developments involving Iran, assessed another round of corporate earnings and looked ahead to key labour market data due later this week.
A modest silver lining for headline inflation is overshadowed by one of the central bank's favorite inflationary measures.
Wall Street hit a milestone on Aug. 4 that would normally silence the skeptics. The S&P 500 closed at a record high for the first time since June, and the Nasdaq Composite followed. Both were powered by stronger-than-expected corporate earnings and falling oil prices tied to hopes the Strait of ...
Total earnings for the S&P 500 companies that have reported are up +41.7% from the same period last year on +14.8% higher revenues, reflecting a notably better showing relative to other recent periods.
Axon Enterprise, the S&P 500 maker of Tasers, body cameras and software for law enforcement, continued its resurgence this week ahead of its Q2 report after today's close. This week's jolt higher may mean it could take a stunning report to maintain upward momentum for Axon stock. Earnings growth is up against what looks like a low bar, but that's only because EPS vaulted 77% in the year-ago quarter.
Catalyst's Q2 earnings per share are strained by merger costs and loan declines, but higher net interest income, improving credit quality and deposit growth support results.
Chipotle's share price has swung wildly for two years, and now management is buying back stock aggressively near current levels while Wall Street eyes a 27% upside. The real question is whether the operational recovery has enough traction to survive margin pressure, a fragile consumer, and fresh food safety concerns.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is famous for his sky-high ambitions, including reaching Mars one day. After SpaceX’s earnings report Tuesday, Musk laid out four more brazen goals for the rocket and artificial-intelligence company, including reaching $1 trillion in revenue in less than five years. SpaceX stock tumbled 8% to $115.29 on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%.
Palantir stock has struggled for months, but the company may have just given investors some hope again. Shares of Palantir surged 29.45% on Aug. 4, the trading day after Palantir reported second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations. The company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents ...