Opening Comment — Thursday, June 04, 2026
DJIA: 50,687.07, down 620.72
S&P 500: 7,553.68, down 56.10
NASDAQ: 26,853.97, down 239.93
Stocks mixed before labor-market data
Stock futures are mixed Thursday morning following declines in many artificial intelligence (AI)-related companies as a major firm’s guidance disappointed. Investors are looking forward to today’s unemployment claims data and finalized first-quarter nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs, as well as looking ahead to tomorrow’s May jobs report. As of 7:14 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.6%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 is falling 1.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Wednesday following waning hopes for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran as fighting continued in the region. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Beige Book highlighted growing economic concerns amid rising inflation. The ADP Employment Change Report showed private payroll gains for May rising more than forecasted. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 54.5, surpassing expectations, while the prices paid component came in lower than expected at 71.3. In addition, April factory orders rose 4.8% month-over-month (MOM), exceeding forecasts. The Dow was down 1.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.7% with six of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.4%, while the Information Technology sector was the bottom performer, falling 1.5%.
On the data front, the Challenger Report for May showed job cuts rising 3.4% year-over-year compared to the prior month’s decline of 20.9%. Finalized first-quarter nonfarm productivity growth is expected to come in at 0.4% quarter-over-quarter, down from the preliminary print of 0.8%, while unit labor costs are forecasted to have increased at an annualized 2.4% pace, up from the preliminary print of 2.3%. Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 30 are expected to come in at 215,000, similar to the previous week, while continuing claims are projected to ease slightly to 1.78 million for the week ending May 23 from 1.79 million.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed in mid-day trading as the U.K.’s May construction PMI unexpectedly fell to 38.2, while Germany’s construction PMI rose to 42.4. Meanwhile, eurozone retail sales for April showed a sharper-than-expected 0.4% MOM decline.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly lower as Australia posted a larger-than-expected trade surplus in April, following the previous month’s narrower than initially reported deficit. The country saw exports increase by 7.2% MOM, while imports rose by 0.8%.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is lower, reversing yesterday’s rise.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.9% lower at $95.14/barrel following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, contingent on Hezbollah stopping attacks.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.8% higher at $4,469.20/ounce following a weakening U.S. dollar.