Stock Futures Edge Up Ahead of Jobs Report

April 1, 2022 3:33 am ET

U.S. stock futures inched up ahead of an update on the state of the U.S. job market that is expected to show a jump in payrolls and a decline in the unemployment rate.

S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures strengthened 0.3%. The contracts don’t necessarily predict moves after the opening bell.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% in morning trade as gains in healthcare and real-estate sectors were muted by losses in utilities and communication services sectors.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100, which is dominated by large international businesses, added 0.2%. Other stock indexes in Europe were also mostly higher Germany’s DAX climbed 0.5% and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2%.

The British pound slipped 0.1% against the U.S. dollar, with 1 pound buying $1.31 whereas the Swiss franc and the euro were broadly flat against the dollar.

In commodities, international benchmark Brent crude was down 1.6% to $103.00 a barrel. Gold also slipped 0.9% to $1,936.40 a troy ounce.

The German 10-year bund yield gained to 0.612% and 10-year gilts yields rose to 1.678%. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury gained to 2.407% from 2.324%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Indexes in Asia were mixed as China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite added 0.9% after falling as much as 0.6% during the session, whereas Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.6%.