Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Set to Open Up; Nvidia, GitLab, Zscaler; U.S. Recession Fears; Jobs Data

Data published Wednesday showed the number of job openings had clocked in below economists’ expectations at 7.7 million in July, the lowest level in three-and-a-half years.

The market struggled to know what to make of the latest numbers–although they point to a slowdown in the labor market, they’re more than a month old. The August nonfarm payrolls report, which is set to be released on Friday, is likely to be a much more important number for stocks.

Thursday marks the release of weekly unemployment claims data and the ISM services purchasing managers’ index, both of which could also help investors to gauge how the economy is faring.

Stock futures were edging up on Thursday, with investors now fixated on jobs numbers as they try to figure out if the U.S. economy is headed for a recession.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 19 points, or 0.1%. Futures for the S&P 500 were also up 0.1% as were contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100.

The three gauges had also wavered on Wednesday after data published by the Labor Department showed that the number of job openings had clocked in below economists’ expectations at 7.7 million in July, the lowest level in three-and-a-half years. The market struggled to know what to make of the latest numbers–although they point to a slowdown in the labor market, they’re more than a month old.

The August nonfarm payrolls report, which is set to be released on Friday, is likely to be a much more important number for stocks. Thursday marks the release of weekly unemployment claims data and the ISM services purchasing managers’ index, both of which could also help investors gauge how the economy is faring amid worries about a potential slowdown.

“All eyes will remain on tomorrow’s jobs report for August to see if that deterioration continues, or whether the weaker July numbers look like more of a blip,” Deutsche Bank’s global head of macro research Jim Reid said in a morning research note. “Ahead of that today’s services ISM will take on added significance given the nerves around at the moment.”

Oil prices edged higher, having dropped sharply this week on signs of weak Chinese demand for crude. Brent rose 0.6% to $73.10 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate U.S. benchmark climbed 0.5% to $69.57 a barrel.

Bond yields have slipped over the past 24 hours. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was 3.770%, while 2-year notes were yielding 3.777%.

The U.S. two- and 10-year Treasury yields have coalesced in the 3.75% area, forming a flat curve but it is set to steepen as the Federal Reserve moves to cut interest rates, rates strategists at ING said.

“Once the novelty of cuts wears off, it will be the return of the term premium that will drive the steepness of the curve,” they said in a note.

The two-year U.S. Treasury yield is trading at 3.756%, down 1.5 basis points, while the 10-year Treasury yield is trading at 3.757%, down 1bp, according to Tradeweb.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 1.1% lower at 36657.09. Following falls in U.S. tech shares, Advantest dropped 2.9%.

Fuji Soft ended the day down 2.1% after KKR launched its tender offer Thursday. Toyota Motor fell 2.2% amid the yen’s appreciation.

The yen last stood around 143.25 against the dollar, trading near a one-month high marked in the morning. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell 1.5 bps to 0.870%, mirroring falls in U.S. Treasurys yields overnight.

But falls in bond yields were limited as solid Japan wage data supported expectations for further rate increases by the Bank of Japan.