S&P 500 and Dow futures held steady early Friday as traders awaited the July jobs report, while Nasdaq futures climbed after strong earnings forecasts from Microchip Technology and Atlassian lifted chip and software stocks. Wall Street's major indexes are on track for a strong week, with AI-driven earnings pushing the Dow and S&P 500 to fresh record highs. A new tariff on polysilicon added another layer to the day's trading.
Chip and software earnings drive record highs
At 05:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 20 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 E-minis rose 12.75 points, or 0.16% over the same span. Nasdaq 100 E-minis climbed 158.5 points, or 0.54%, after Microchip Technology and Atlassian both forecast quarterly revenue above estimates.
Atlassian jumped 28.5% in premarket trading, and Microchip Tech advanced 8.5%. Cybersecurity company Cloudflare gained 15.6% after raising its full-year revenue forecast above estimates. The rally spread further: Marvell and Micron rose 3.6% and 2%, respectively. Software makers Palo Alto and ServiceNow, meanwhile, added 3% and 2.4%.
Better-than-expected earnings from AI-linked firms this season are the reason behind the record highs the Dow and S&P 500 have reached. The same earnings strength has let the Nasdaq claw back from a slide that had briefly put it nearly 10% under its prior peak. The index is now headed for its strongest weekly advance since May.
A new tariff targets polysilicon supply
Separately, the White House set price floors and added a 15% tariff on polysilicon-based products — the raw material behind semiconductors and solar panels that China mostly supplies — in a bid to boost domestic output. Solar stocks moved on the news too: First Solar gained 8.7% and SolarEdge climbed 1.8%.
Jobs data looms over the rate outlook
July's non-farm payrolls land at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists expecting 80,000 jobs added, up from 57,000 the month before. The unemployment rate and average annual earnings are expected to hold steady at 4.2% and 3.5%, respectively.
New Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has offered investors little forward guidance on interest rate policy, sharpening the focus on the data. Traders now price close to even odds for a rate hike versus no change in September. That is up from last week's 37% chance of unchanged rates versus 63% for an increase. Short-term Treasury yields hovered above 4% as crude prices inched up above $83 a barrel, adding to inflation concerns.
Source: Investing.com
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