Futures Turn Mixed Following Much Weaker Than Expected Jobs Data

Stocks futures have moved in opposite directions following the release of disappointing jobs data on Friday. While the Dow futures have pulled back into negative territory, the Nasdaq futures have shown a substantial move to the upside.

Currently, the Dow futures are down by 44 points after the blue chip index reached a record closing high on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures have surged up by more than 190 points.

The mixed performance by the futures comes after the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report showed much weaker than expected job growth in the month of April.

The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 266,000 jobs in April after surging by a downwardly revised 770,000 jobs in March.

Economists had expected employment to spike by 978,000 jobs compared to the jump of 916,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education were partly offset by employment declines in temporary help services and couriers and messengers.

The report also showed the unemployment rate inched up to 6.1 percent in April from 6.0 percent in March. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to drop to 5.8 percent.

While the disappointing data may raise concerns about the economic outlook, the drop in treasury yields following the release of the report may lead to strength among tech stocks.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of March. Wholesale inventories are expected to jump by 1.4 percent.

Following the mixed performance seen during trading on Wednesday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the upward move, the Dow reached another new record closing high.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow jumped 318.19 points or 0.9 percent to 34,548.53, the Nasdaq rose 50.42 points or 0.4 percent to 13,632.84 and the S&P 500 climbed 34.03 points or 0.8 percent to 4,201.62.