Stock futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), and S&P 500 (^GSPC) are currently trading close to the flat line, with investors taking in the ADP’s jobs data for June and the US Department of Labor’s initial jobless claims from last week.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed optimism that the Fed has made some progress against inflation during his speech at the ECB Forum on Central Banking yesterday. He stated that the central bank is slowly moving back toward a disinflationary path.
Shares of Paramount Global (PARA) are soaring in pre-market trading following reports that Skydance Media may be nearing an agreement to buy Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the holding company of Paramount. This potential merger could lead to a merger between Skydance and Paramount Global, subject to approval by Paramount’s Special Committee.
In the labor market, the US added 150,000 new private sector jobs in June, which is below the 165,000 Wall Street expected and even below the prior month’s revised levels. Additionally, 238,000 people filed for new unemployment benefits last week, which is more than expected and higher than the prior week’s rating. This data suggests some weakening in the labor market and comes ahead of Friday’s big jobs report.
JP Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, expressed encouragement by the recent cooler readings on inflation but stated that the central bank will need to see more evidence before cutting interest rates. He noted that the last two inflation readings in April and May suggest that the US is getting back on a disinflationary path.
Wall Street is also watching for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, which could provide clues about the timing of rate cuts. The comments come after the latest reading of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge for P ce rose 2.6% in May, the slowest annual gain in more than three years.
This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan and the video transcript was provided for additional context. For more expert insight and the latest market action, viewers can watch the full episode of Morning Brief.
