Opening Comment — Friday, May 03, 2024
DJIA: 38,225.66, up 322.37
S&P 500: 5,064.20, up 45.81
NASDAQ: 15,840.96, up 235.48
Stocks higher ahead of April’s jobs report
Stock futures are higher on Friday, ahead of April’s jobs report and Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs). Investors look forward to the latest earnings releases. The Dow is rising 0.8% while the S&P 500 is up 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Thursday, with March’s factory orders and the final release for durable goods orders both increasing in line with expectations. Investors also evaluated the initial readings for the first quarter’s non-farm productivity and unit labor costs. The former increased less than expectations, while the latter increased more than projections. The Dow was up 0.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%. The S&P 500 increased 0.9% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Information Technology sector gained the most, rising 1.6%.
On the data front today, non-farm payrolls are expected to increase by 240,000 month-over-month (MoM) in April, down from the prior month’s increase of 303,000, while April’s manufacturing payrolls are projected to increase by 5,000 MoM versus the prior month’s stagnation. Meanwhile, private payrolls are anticipated to increase by 195,000 MoM versus the prior month’s increase of 232,000. The unemployment rate is expected to register 3.8% for April, unchanged from the prior month’s reading, while April’s labor force participation rate is expected to be 62.7%, also unchanged from the prior month’s reading. April’s average hourly earnings is expected to increase 0.3% MoM and 4.0% year-over-year (YoY), similar to and down from the prior month’s increases of 0.3% and 4.1%, respectively. The final reading for April’s S&P Global Services PMI is expected to register 51.0, up slightly from the prior reading of 50.9, while the final reading for April’s S&P Global Composite PMI is also projected to register 51.0 versus the prior reading of 50.9. April’s Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services PMI and the prices paid component are anticipated to record 52.0 and 55.0, respectively, versus the previous month’s readings of 51.4 and 53.4, respectively.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading with the eurozone’s unemployment rate coming in line with consensus estimates in March. France’s industrial and manufacturing production decreased in March, compared to anticipated increases. The U.K.’s finalized services and composite PMIs for April came in slightly higher than expectations.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed with Hong Kong’s retail sales decreasing in March, compared to February’s increase. Singapore’s retail sales increased slightly less than projections in March.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly lower ahead of April’s jobs report.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.1% higher at $79.06/barrel, attributed in part to the possibility of OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 other non-OPEC members) maintaining output cuts.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% lower at $2308.40/ounce despite a weakening dollar.