Opening Comment — Friday, August 07, 2026
DJIA: 53,885.10, down 464.02
S&P 500: 7,709.96, down 13.59
NASDAQ: 26,348.35, down 15.09
Stocks higher before jobs report
Stock futures are higher Friday morning ahead of today’s release of the July jobs report and consumer credit data for June. As of 7:17 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.5% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Thursday as markets evaluated details of the drafted Strait of Hormuz deal between Iran and Oman. Preliminary second-quarter nonfarm productivity unexpectedly accelerated to an annualized 1.4%, following an upwardly revised increase in the prior quarter, while unit labor costs came in lower than expected and remained unchanged from the previous quarter's downwardly revised pace of 1.3%. Meanwhile, both initial jobless and continuing claims for the week prior picked up. The Dow was down 0.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.2% with eight of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Energy sector was the top performer, rising 1.6%, while the Industrials sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.8%.
Technical Analysis:
As of midday Thursday, the S&P 500 remains in an uptrend. Resistance remains to be determined, while support is provided by the 50-day moving average at 7,490 and the 200-day moving average at 7,045.
On the data front, July’s nonfarm payrolls are expected to expand by 80,000 versus the prior month’s 57,000, while manufacturing payrolls are projected to increase by 4,000 compared to the prior month’s 3,000. Average hourly earnings are projected to rise 0.3% month-over-month (MOM) and 3.5% year-over-year (YOY) for July, unchanged from the prior month’s increases. Meanwhile, July's unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate is forecast to rise slightly to 61.6% from the previous month's 61.5%. The New York Federal Reserve will release their July Survey of Consumer Expectations, with the measure of one-year inflation expectations projected to come in at 3.69% from the prior month’s 3.67%. Consumer credit is expected to have expanded by $11.85 billion in June, rebounding from the prior month's $182 million decline.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as Germany’s June trade surplus narrowed more than expected as imports and exports registered greater-than-projected increases of 4.4% and 0.9% MOM, respectively. The country’s June industrial production increased 0.2% MOM, matching expectations. In France, the second-quarter unemployment rate rose more than expected to 8.3%, while June’s trade deficit narrowed from the prior month.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as China’s July trade surplus narrowed less than projected, following a greater-than-expected 23.9% YOY increase in exports and a smaller-than-forecasted 27.5% YOY increase in imports. Japan’s June household spending unexpectedly declined 3.3% YOY, while the country’s June Leading Index held steady.
In FOREX trading, the U.S. dollar is little changed ahead of today’s U.S. jobs report.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.4% lower at $76.98/barrel.
In the metals complex, gold is 1.8% higher at $4,317.29/ounce.