- Payrolls data exceed estimates; U.S. index futures mixed.
- Nonfarm payrolls increase 943,000 in July vs. 845,000 estimate.
- Futures : Dow up 0.04%, S&P up 0.03%, Nasdaq down 0.12%.
- Oil prices rose on Friday.
- Didi Global, Beyond Meat, Virgin Galactic made the biggest moves premarket.
(Update: Aug 6, 2021 at 08:41 a.m. ET)
(Aug 6) U.S. stock futures wavered Friday ahead of quarterly earnings and a jobs report that will give insights into the pace of business activity andthe economic rebound.
At 08:41 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 13 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.03% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis fell 17.75 points, or 0.12%.
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket:
1) Canopy Growth(CGC) – The Canadian cannabis producer’s shares rose 1.9% premarket after it posted an unexpected quarterly profit on rising marijuana demand and cost cuts. The gain comes even as revenue falls short of Wall Street forecasts.
2) Gannett(GCI) – The USA Today publisher earned 10 cents per share for its latest quarter, compared with forecasts of a 36 cents per share loss. Revenue also topped Wall Street forecasts. The company saw digital subscriber numbers jump 41% from a year earlier, and the stock rallied 6.3% in the premarket.
3) DraftKings(DKNG) – The sports betting company’s stock jumped 3.5% premarket after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and raised its revenue forecast for the full year. DraftKings saw significant gains in a number of key metrics, including a 26% jump in monthly revenue per user.
4) Novavax(NVAX) – Novavax shares tumbled 11.7% in premarket trading after the drugmaker said it would delay seeking emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine until the fourth quarter. Novavax also posted a wider-than-expected loss and saw revenue fall below Wall Street forecasts.
5) Didi Global(DIDI) – Didi gained 4.1% in premarket action, following a Bloomberg report saying the China-based ride-hailing company was considering giving up control of its data to help resolve a regulatory probe by the Chinese government.
6) Zillow Group(ZG) - Zillow reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 44 cents per share, 20 cents above estimates, with the real estate website operator’s revenue above estimates as well. Zillow also gave an upbeat growth forecast, as it scales up its home-flipping business, and said it expects sales this quarter to exceed $2 billion for the first time. Zillow added 1.8% in the premarket.
7) Virgin Galactic(SPCE) – Virgin Galactic lost 39 cents per share for its latest quarter, 6 cents more than expected, though the space flight company did report much better-than-expected revenue. It also announced it will sell seats for space tourism flights at $450,000 and up. The stock was up 3.1% in premarket trading.
8) Beyond Meat(BYND) – Beyond Meat slid 3.7% in premarket action after it reported a quarterly loss of 31 cents per share, 7 cents wider than expected. Revenue for the maker of plant-based meat alternatives did come in above Street forecasts, but it gave a cautious outlook due to “more conservative” orders by its customers due to Covid-related uncertainty.
9) Dropbox(DBX) – Dropbox shares gained 3.5% in premarket trading after its adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share beat estimates by 7 cents and the cloud storage company’s revenue came in above forecasts as well.
10) Cornerstone OnDemand(CSOD) – Cornerstone agreed to be bought out by private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group. Clearlake will pay about $3.8 billion, or $57.50 per share in cash for the cloud computing firm. Cornerstone surged 13.3% in the premarket.
11) Zynga(ZNGA) – Zynga shares plunged 15.8% in the premarket after the mobile gaming company gave a disappointing full-year forecast, anticipating a slowdown in gaming. Zynga also reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 4 cents per share, 5 cents shy of estimates, with revenue below estimates as well.
12) Carvana(CVNA) – Carvana shares rallied 11.3% in premarket trading after the online used-car retailer posted an unexpected profit – its first ever - for its latest quarter. The company’s revenue also exceeded analyst forecasts by a wide margin. Auto sales, in general, have enjoyed a boom in demand since the pandemic began last year.
13) Yelp(YELP) – Yelp earned 5 cents per share for its latest quarter, compared with consensus forecasts for a 9 cents per share loss. The online review site operator also reported better-than-expected revenue and boosted its full-year forecast as ad revenue continues to strengthen. Shares surged 12.9% in premarket action.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.2%; the dollar rallied ahead of key U.S. jobs data that’s set to put a focus on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook amid calls from officials to pare bond purchases. The greenback strengthened against all its G-10 peers, with the euro and the Norwegian krone among the biggest decliners. “A strong U.S. jobs number today should see the U.S. money market rates continue to work their way back to the highs seen in early July. This should support the dollar against the low- yielders of JPY and EUR,” said ING analysts including Chris Turner. Thursday’s release showing a second weekly drop in U.S. jobless claims stoked expectations for strong payrolls data and ignoring the huge ADP payrolls miss. Short-term accounts are carrying short AUD/USD positions into the report, according to FX traders. The Thai baht led losses among emerging markets currencies, emblematic of how a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths in some countries around the world is hitting confidence in their currencies and economies. Turkey's lira was down 0.8% in its fourth straight day of losses .
“EUR/USD is dropping toward 1.18 as short-term U.S. rates creeps higher before NFP,” say Danske Bank analysts including Jens Naervig Pedersen. “An ongoing strengthening of the labor market combined with rising inflation as the CPI-numbers are published next week is significant for the monetary policy outlook as shown by the recent hawkish comments from Fed’s vice chairman Clarida regarding tapering and rate hikes”
In rates, treasuries traded heavy across long-end of the curve, with the bear steepening move extended following large block sale in ultra-long bond futures shortly after 6am ET. 10-Year Treasury yields rose u to around 1.255%, cheaper by 3.2bp on the day and underperforming bunds by 1.5bp; long-end led losses steepens 2s10s, 5s30s spread by 2.3bp and 1.6bp on the day. Pockets of selling also emerged during Asia session as futures drifted lower, leaving yields cheaper by up to 4bp across long-end ahead of 8:30am ET July jobs report.
In commodities, oil prices rose on Friday but were still set for their biggest weekly loss since October after falls earlier in the week triggered by rising COVID-19 cases and a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles. WTI crude was $69.99 a barrel, up 0.47%. Brent crude traded at $72.22 per barrel, up 1.29%. The stronger dollar and potential for higher yields hurt gold with the spot price down 0.41% at $1,796.52. Ether the world's second largest cryptocurrency dropped 3% a day after a major software upgrade to its underlying ethereum blockchain, which is expected to stabilise transaction fees and reduce supply of the token.