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US stock futures were mixed after three days of declines as investors took stock of tensions in the Middle East and earnings from tech companies like Broadcom (AVGO) and Snowflake (SNOW).
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) rose 0.2%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) were little changed. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) edged below the flat line after stocks snapped their losing streak.
Stocks regrouped as oil prices edged lower, though Brent (BZ=F) crude oil futures remained above $95 per barrel. On Wednesday, President Trump said the US carried out a “very heavy attack” against Iran but also stated that the attack wouldn’t take “too long.”
While the reinflamed war in the Middle East has kept the spotlight on inflation, more attention is turning to the labor market, as a lineup of economic data releases sets the stage for Friday’s jobs report.
On Thursday morning, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported a slower pace of layoff announcements in August in the latest sign of a “low hire, low fire” labor market. That data will be coupled with Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on how many Americans filed unemployment benefit applications last week.
On the earnings front, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) and DocuSign (DOCU) are among the notable names reporting quarterly results after the bell. Broadcom (AVGO) stock slipped after the chipmaker’s earnings beat wasn’t enough to lift the shares.
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Layoff plans trended down in August, and fewer companies are blaming AI
US companies announced just under 53,000 job cuts last month, making it the slowest August for layoffs since 2022, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Consumer products companies, including Procter & Gamble (PG) and Estée Lauder (EL), were behind more than 10,000 of the cuts. Food producers followed, with nearly 8,000 layoffs, a third of which came from Tyson Foods in response to a historic cattle shortage.
Although job cut announcements rose from July, total layoffs so far this year are down 41% compared to 2025 and dropped 15% excluding government jobs.
“This is the quietest August since 2022, but is generally on average for the month since the mid-2010s. What we’d like to see with low layoffs is an increase in hiring activity,” Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “While companies are making plans to hire more workers than last year, according to our numbers, it doesn’t appear those positions are being filled quickly.”
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Broadcom stock wavers as chipmaker’s strong results ‘not enough to keep investors happy’
Broadcom (AVGO) stock trimmed losses after tumbling as much as 4% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The AI chip and networking giant saw revenue growth amid booming AI demand, but the company’s results were not enough to send the stock higher. Shares sank immediately after the results, then trimmed losses.
“I can understand the selling pressure,” Cody Acree, StoneX financial equity research analyst, told Yahoo Finance. The analyst, who has a Buy rating on the stock, noted the chipmaker’s fiscal Q3 revenue and earnings beat was “not enough to keep investors happy.”
“The magnitude is not quite enough from a top and bottom line standpoint on the beat and raise when you have a company that is this levered to AI,” said Acree.
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The bond market is back in the danger zone — here’s what could make it worse
The bond market is on shaky ground again. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is trying to keep one of America’s biggest foreign debt buyers from making it worse.
Long-term US yields are near multi-decade highs, pushing up mortgage and corporate borrowing costs and threatening stocks. Bessent already doubled long-term Treasury buybacks last month, but the US 30-year yield (^TYX) has climbed back toward its highest level since 2007.
Now another potential pressure point is emerging from Japan, the largest foreign holder of US government debt, with about $1.1 trillion of Treasurys.
Japan spent decades with interest rates near zero. Now, its 10-year government bond yields around 3% for the first time since 1996. Japanese savers and institutions can suddenly get paid at home, giving them less reason to send money overseas into Treasurys and other foreign bonds.
That creates one problem for Washington: A weaker yen can prompt Japan to buy its currency with dollars. Raising those dollars can mean selling Treasurys, putting even more bonds into a market already struggling with high yields.
Japan-based investors sold a net $71 billion of US Treasury debt through June, with almost all of the selling concentrated in short-term T-bills, which mature within one year. · US Treasury, Yahoo Finance -
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Economic data: Challenger job cuts, year-on-year, August (-46.1% previously); Imports, month-on-month, July (+1.4% expected, -1.8% previously); Exports, month-on-month, July (-0.8% expected, -0.9% previously); Nonfarm productivity, second-quarter final reading (+1.4% expected, +1.4% previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Aug. 29 (205,000 expected, 203,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Aug. 22 (1.79 million expected, 1.778 million previously); S&P Global US services PMI, August final reading (56.8 expected, 56.8 previously); S&P Global US composite PMI, August final reading (56 previously); ISM services index, August (54.1 expected, 54.1 previously); ISM services, prices paid, August (69.5 expected, 70.3 previously); ISM services, new orders, August (57 expected, 57.2 previously); ISM services, employment, August (49 expected, 47.4 previously)
Earnings calendar: Ciena (CIEN), Copart (CPRT), Zscaler (ZS), Samsara (IOT), Guidewire Software (GWRE), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), DocuSign (DOCU), Planet Labs (PL), Victoria’s Secret (VSXY), The Campbell’s Company (CPB)
Catch up on some top stories from overnight:
Snowflake stock soars as surging AI demand boosts earnings
Broadcom stock sinks as chipmaker fails ‘to keep investors happy’
Google spared from ad-business breakup, but judge orders changes
Goldman Sachs warns investors to expect lower returns over the next year
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Oil holds three-day gain as Trump says Iran strikes to be brief
Bloomberg reports:
Oil steadied after a three-day rally as President Donald Trump said renewed attacks on Iran would be short-lived while reiterating his claim that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate traded near $91 a barrel after surging 9% over the past three sessions. Brent settled below $96 on Wednesday. Asked how long the US bombing campaign could continue, Trump said “I don’t think too long,” although the president added that “we’re prepared to do another one.”
The renewed US strikes followed weeks of relative calm, with Iran retaliating by firing drones and missiles on American bases across the Middle East, in line with a pattern used throughout the six-month war. While some oil exports had been exiting the Persian Gulf on tankers with their transponders switched off, the latest hostilities raised the prospect of deeper disruptions.
“The latest escalation should keep support under the market, however, keep in mind both the US and Iran are looking for off-ramps here,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president for trading at BOK Financial Securities Inc. “More peace talks could deflate prices quickly.”
