S&P 500 futures declined Thursday and investors dumped risk assets as concerns mounted over the health of the U.S. economy.
Futures for the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline.
Investors ditched popular technology and chipmaker stocks as economic worries resurged. Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices lost more than 1%. Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Alphabet dipped less than 1% each.
The premarket declines accelerated after private payrolls growth data showed the weakest growth since 2021, heightening fears of a deteriorating labor market. The market shown hyper sensitivity to potential growth scares in recent weeks, including Tuesday’s sell-off on the heels of weak manufacturing data. That puts heightened scrutiny on upcoming labor market data.
“While incoming data is mixed, it is not collapsing, and the global cutting cycle should help the economy achieve a soft landing, extending the cycle into 2025,” said Barclays’ Emmanuel Cau.
Although the U.S. economy remains on track for a “soft landing” scenario, ongoing market turbulence isn’t out of the question in the near term.
“We see this as a broadly positive environment for equities, but a lot is arguably priced in, and there are a number of wildcards to get through,” Cau added.
Tesla rose about 3% before the bell after the electric vehicle maker said it plans to launch its full self-driving driver assistance software in Europe and China early next year. Frontier Communications dropped 10% after Verizon said it would buy the company in a $20 billion deal. Verizon added 1%.
Thursday’s premarket moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each closed lower for the second straight session, dipping 0.16% and 0.30%, respectively. The Dow squeezed out a gain of 38 points, or 0.09%, on Wednesday.
All three averages are down for the week, with key employment reports looming. Investors will sift through weekly jobless claims data Thursday morning, ahead of Friday’s keynote August nonfarm payrolls report.
