New York City, NY – US stock futures showed slight gains on Friday as investors took a breather from recent losses. This pause came as they absorbed the latest monthly jobs report and monitored soaring oil prices.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by around 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose by 0.3%, following a significant drop the day before. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also saw an increase of 0.4%.
According to Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer, the US labor market continued to outperform expectations in March. Employers added 303,000 jobs, surpassing economists’ forecasts, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%. Wage growth also met predictions.
Market indices faced a setback on Thursday due to surging oil prices, leading to concerns about potential inflation hikes. Additionally, remarks from various Federal Reserve officials contributed to uncertainty about the timing of any future interest rate cuts.
This week has been marked by volatility in the stock market, with investors navigating through economic data, corporate updates, and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Oil prices remained near multi-month highs on Friday, with Brent crude futures close to $91 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures trading at $86.60. These gains were attributed in part to rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
As investors engage with market developments, it becomes clear that economic indicators and geopolitical events will continue to influence trading activity in the days ahead.