Futures rise ahead of May jobs report

[June 07, 2019]   By Amy Caren Daniel

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, as hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve continued to buoy sentiment ahead of a highly awaited jobs report.

Bets that the U.S. central bank would cut rates as soon as next month have helped the S&P 500 clock three straight sessions of gains and put the benchmark index on track for its first weekly gain since May 3. [MMT/]

Data due at 8:30 a.m. ET will likely show nonfarm payrolls rose by 185,000 jobs in May after surging 263,000 in the prior month, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

However, a strong employment report may do little to dial back expectations of an interest rate cut this year.

"We're in this perverse position where good economic data might not actually be good for the market," said Peter Kenny, founder, Kenny's Commentary LLC and Strategic Board Solutions LLC in New York.

"Now people are beginning to lean into this sense that accommodation by the Fed is the route to go."

Investors will also track talks between the United States and Mexico, a day after the three main indexes ended higher on a Bloomberg report that President Donald Trump could delay the tariffs he had threatened on Mexican goods.

At 7:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 86 points, or 0.33%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.34% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 34.5 points, or 0.47%.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Investors ploughed a record $12.3 billion into investment-grade bond funds and ditched equities over the past week, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report, as worries over trade and growth reinforced a run for safe-haven bets.

Tech-oriented equity funds lost $1.1 billion, their biggest weekly outflows this year, while funds focused on defensive sectors such as consumer, real estate and utilities all enjoyed inflows.

Among stocks, Beyond Meat Inc shares surged 23.5% in premarket trading after the maker of plant-based burgers and sausages said it expects to more than double its revenue and report breakeven EBITDA this year.

Another recent debutant Zoom Video Communications Inc jumped 13.1% after the video conferencing company forecast full-year revenue above estimates.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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