US futures rose on Thursday after new data showed the labor market continued its slow recovery and stagnation.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4%, indicating that the broad market gauge may advance after the opening bell in New York, breaking two consecutive days of stopped losses. Contracts related to the powerful Nasdaq-100 technology advanced by 0.5%, and those related to the Dow Jones industrial average increased by 0.3%.
Continued progress toward adopting a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package in the US reinforces sentiment as investors expect it to further cushion the economic impact of the Covid-19 blockades. While some data showed signs of improvement in the labor market, investors expect high numbers of jobless claims to support the need for more stimulus.
New data showed that 793,000 Americans first applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending February 6. New applications for the previous week were revised to 812,000.
“There are still a significant number of jobs that have been lost and it is clear that more tax support is needed,” Shoqat Bunglawala, head of international multi-asset solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said before the data was released.