Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures edge up with jobs report, Powell comments on deck

Unlock stock picks and a broker-level newsfeed that powers Wall Street. Upgrade Now

Updated Fri, Mar 7, 2025, 4:01 AM 2 min read

Stakes are high for February’s job report later on Friday, as stocks flounder amid fears of weakening economic growth. Downbeat economic data has boosted bets on interest-rate cuts this year, setting investors on watch for signs of strain in the nonfarm-payrolls report. It’s expected to show hiring picked up, while the employment rate held steady when it’s released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Markets are also looking to Chair Jerome Powell to throw some light on the Federal Reserve’s thinking on Trump’s tariffs and the risk of stagflation when he speaks on Friday morning. His comments will be among the last from Fed officials before their March 18-19 policy meeting.

CBOT – Delayed Quote USD

As of 7:13:20 AM EST. Market Open.

YM=F ES=F NQ=F

Trade-war worries are still keeping markets on edge. Trump paused tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada until April, but the news didn’t provide any relief for stocks on Thursday. Canada said responded with a matching delay in its second wave of retaliatory duties, while Mexico has yet to react. However, Mexico has begun reviewing its China tariffs, which could prove a win with Trump.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell below $90,000, pulling back from this week’s rally after Trump authorized the creation of a strategic US bitcoin reserve ahead of his “crypto summit” on Friday.

On the earnings front, Broadcom’s stock (AVGO) rose in premarket after the US chipmaker issued a strong second quarter forecast, seen as a positive sign for AI demand.

LIVE 3 updates

Broadcom stock jumps as outlook eases AI worries

Shares of Broadcom (AVGO) rose over 11% in premarket trading, set for a rebound as investors welcomed the US chipmaker’s strong second quarter sales forecast.

The Apple supplier’s outlook helped revive some faith in Big Tech demand for AI chips after rival Marvell’s (MRVL) downbeat earnings helped drive losses among semiconductor stocks on Thursday.

“Given the anxiety about AI conditions in general, these results should come as a relief,” Morgan Stanley analysts said, per Reuters.
Jobs report expected to show hiring uptick, unemployment steady

Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports:

The February jobs report is expected to show hiring picked up in February, while the unemployment rate held steady. This comes at a crucial moment for markets as stocks have recently been floundering amid fears about economic growth weakening in the US.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to have risen by 160,000 in February, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4%, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

With markets in a slump — amid a string of weaker-than-expected economic growth data — Citi head of US equity trading strategy Stuart Kaiser told Yahoo Finance that Friday’s jobs report is a “pretty significant risk to the market.”

“A good jobs print helps, but it’s probably not enough to sort things out,” Kaiser said. “And if you got a weak print, let’s say below 125,000 jobs [added], or in particular, if the unemployment rate rose, I think you would have a pretty big pullback in US equities in response to that.”

Read more here.
Trump establishes strategic bitcoin reserve signed order

White House crypto czar David Sacks said in a post on X that U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve.

The reserve will be initially funded with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. The US government is estimated to own around 200,000 bitcoin, with a full audit of its holdings mandated.

David Sacks tweet: