Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Aug. 24, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures were little changed on Thursday evening as traders looked ahead to August’s big payrolls report.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3 points, or 0.01%. S&P 500 futures slid 0.03%, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.06%.
In Thursday’s regular trading, the three major averages rose. The 30-stock Dow gained more than 600 points, or 1.2%, and posted its best day since Aug. 4. The S&P 500 climbed more than 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%.
In Asia, markets opened higher Friday. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.13%, Japan’sNikkei 225 added 0.74%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.9% and the mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.89%.
U.S. stocks caught a tailwind as Treasury yields pulled back after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would be “inclined” to support holding rates at their current target range of 3.5% to 3.75% at the central bank’s Sept. 15-16 meeting.
Traders have their eyes on the next market catalyst this week: August’s jobs report, due Friday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 53,000 nonfarm payrolls were added last month, and they expect the unemployment rate to be 4.1%. This compares to a loss of 23,000 jobs in July.
“Inflation statistics next week will also be pivotal; however, ongoing decreases in employment should be enough for the central bank to start considering the labor side of its mandate when prescribing policy, rather than maintaining an unwavering commitment to quelling price pressures,” said José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. He is eyeing the consumer price index and producer price index reports due next week.
Stocks are on pace for a winning week. The S&P 500 is on track for a 0.5% advance, while the Nasdaq is on pace for a 0.7% gain. The Dow is heading for a 0.2% jump.
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