Traders are working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
Equity futures were fixed in overnight transactions on Thursday, after a series of four-day gains on Wall Street, while investors waited for a January job report, closely monitored.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose just 20 points. The S&P 500 futures were flat, and the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.
The Department of Labor will publish its January job report on Friday at 8:30 AM ET. Economists expect 50,000 wages added last month after a 140,000 decline in December, according to Dow Jones. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 6.7%.
There have been signs of improving the recovery of the labor market. Weekly unemployment claims showed 779,000 first-time applicants, the lowest since Nov. 28 and below 830,000 expected by economists.
The S&P 500 rose for the fourth day to close at a record high on Thursday, boosted by technology and banking stocks. Dow jumped over 300 points in the previous session, while the Nasdaq Composite also reached a fresh high.
“The three pillars of the rally have actually become stronger: earnings in Q4 continue to dramatically exceed expectations, more stimulus is boosted in the economy and the pace of vaccination is accelerating,” said Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vtal Knowledge, in a note .
With four consecutive days of gains, the major averages are on the pace of the best weekly performances in November. The Dow blue-chip gained 3.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 4.2% and 5.4%, respectively. The market bounced back from last week’s sharp losses as the speculative frenzy of transactions dissipated.
Wall Street is in the middle of a solid earnings season. Of the 184 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings so far, 84.2% exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to Refinitiv.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive statistics and analysis, and live scheduling on weekdays around the world.