Two 59%+ winners, four above 25% in Aug – How this AI model keeps picking winners
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
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* Futures up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.27%
By Shreyashi Sanyal
May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on
Friday as signs of a fast recovering global economy boosted
sentiment ahead of data that is expected to show the U.S.
economy created nearly a million jobs in April.
The Labor Department's closely watched employment report
comes a day after an upbeat reading on weekly jobless claims,
and will be the first to show the impact of the White House's
$1.9 trillion COVID-19 pandemic rescue package approved in
March. A Reuters poll of economists showed nonfarm payrolls likely
increased by 978,000 jobs last month after rising by 916,000 in
March.
The data, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, is also expected to show that
the unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.0% and average hourly
earnings slowed to a 0.4% drop after a 4.2% increase in March.
Investors will be looking for hints on monetary policy, as a
stronger-than-forecast reading could spur bets that the Federal
Reserve will reduce its massive stimulus program.
"The dilemma investors are facing right now is that while
strong U.S. economic data is positive news, the accelerating
growth is increasing the risk of an overheating economy and the
Federal Reserve being forced to hike rates early," said Milan
Cutkovic, market analyst at Axi.
Most stocks traded in a tight range before the opening bell,
with mega-cap growth stocks such as Microsoft Corp MSFT.O ,
Apple Inc AAPL.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Facebook Inc
FB.O rising between 0.2% and 0.6%.
Economically sensitive cyclical stocks also firmed, with
planemaker Boeing Co BA.N up 0.4%, lender Goldman Sachs Group
Inc GS.N rising 0.5% and oil major Chevron Corp CVX.N
gaining 0.1%.
At 7:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 85 points, or
0.25%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 9.75 points, or 0.23%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 36.25 points, or 0.27%.
The Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC is set to fall 2.3% this
week, its worst weekly decline since late February. The S&P 500
.SPX and the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI indexes,
however, are on track for weekly gains.
Cigna Corp CI.N rose 0.8% as the health insurer raised its
forecasts for full-year profit and revenue.