Stock futures are gaining ground Friday, while oil prices are holding steady amid uncertainty over the state of the ceasefire in Iran; the nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show that job growth slowed in April, as the economy faces risks including high gas prices caused by the war; Cloudflare shares are tumbling despite strong earnings as the company announced plans to cut about one-fifth of its workforce; shares of CoreWeave are also lower after the cloud computing provider posted a larger-than-expected loss for the first quarter; and Block shares are rising after the CashApp and Square parent topped Wall Street earnings estimates and lifted its profit forecast. Here’s what you need to know today.
Stock Futures Rise After Pulling Back From Record Highs Yesterday
Stock futures are higher this morning as investors digest another big batch of earnings and await key data on the labor market (more on that below). Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were recently up 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 0.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched all-time highs yesterday before finishing the session lower amid uncertainty about the prospects for an end to the Iran war.
WTI futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were holding steady at around $95, after briefly dropping below $90 yesterday before rising as reports emerged that Iran attacked U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said in response the U.S. attacked launch sites in Iran, but again insisted that the weeks-long ceasefire is still in place. Gold futures were up less than 1% at $4,730 an ounce, while bitcoin hovered around $80,000. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked lower to 4.38%.
April Jobs Reports Coming This Morning
Investors will get their latest look at the health of the U.S. labor market with the highly anticipated release of the April jobs report. The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, is expected to show that the U.S. added about 55,000 jobs last month, down from a higher-than-expected 178,000 in March, according to economists. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 4.3%. Experts have said today’s report will be key in determining whether last month’s report was the start of an improving job market, or just a temporary bump. The job market has alternated between adding and losing jobs in the last year as tariffs, the Federal Reserve’s late-2025 rate cuts, and now worries over the Iran war and significantly elevated gas prices have all affected the economy in their own way.
Cloudflare Stock Tumbles as Restructuring Outweighs Earnings Beat
Shares of Cloudflare (NET) are sinking after the cloud services provider announced better-than-expected revenue and earnings for the first quarter, but also unveiled a major restructuring plan. Cloudflare said it expects to eliminate about 1,100 jobs, more than 20% of the 5,156 full-time employees Cloudflare said it had at the end of 2025. The company said its own internal use of AI has grown more than 600% in the last three months, and said they need to be “intentional in how we architect our company for the agentic AI era.”ll. Cloudflare shares were down 15% ahead of the opening bell.
CoreWeave Stock Sinks on Wider-Than-Expected Loss
CoreWeave (CRWV) shares are also falling this morning after the cloud provider reported a wider-than-expected loss. CoreWeave said late Thursday it generated $2.08 billion in revenue in the first quarter, more than doubling year-over-year, while reporting a net loss of $1.40 per share, larger than the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA)-backed CoreWeave had surged leading up to the report, rising 80% since the start of the year. The stock has tracked a broader rally in AI stocks and also benefited from new deals the company has announced with AI hyperscalers. Shares were down 7% in recent premarket trading.
Block Stock Rallies On Solid Results, Raised Profit Outlook
Block (XYZ) shares are rising after the financial technology company beat Wall Street estimates for the first quarter and lifted its full-year outlook. Block said after the bell Thursday that it earned an adjusted 85 cents per share on $6.06 billion in revenue, each above the analyst consensus. Block, which owns the payments platform CashApp and Square credit card readers, said it now expects to generate adjusted EPS of $3.85 this year, which would be 62% growth from 2025 and is up from its previous forecast of $3.66. The company made headlines earlier this year when it announced plans to cut 4,000 of its roughly 10,000 employees, citing changes brought on by AI. Block shares were up 7% recently, and are poised to open at their highest level since last November.
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