Amazon results boost U.S. futures ahead of jobs data

[August 04, 2023]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as Amazon's better-than-expected earnings trumped Apple's tepid sales forecast, while investors awaited the July jobs report to firm up the likelihood of a "soft landing" for the economy.

Amazon shares surged 8.8% in premarket trading after the company issued an upbeat outlook for the third quarter, while Apple's shares fell 1.8% as the iPhone maker forecast a continued slide in sales.

Shares of peers Microsoft, Alphabet and Snowflake rose between 1% and 6.2% after Amazon's cloud business segment beat sales estimates.

All eyes will be squarely on the July U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with a Reuters poll of economists estimating payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs last month, after having risen 209,000 in June, showing labor market conditions remain tight.

A Labor Department report on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week, while layoffs dropped to an 11-month low in July.

"The U.S. economy still appears to be in decent shape, concern about the manufacturing sector notwithstanding, but the services sector has remained resilient, with another solid ISM survey in July which saw prices paid tick higher, and the employment component tick lower," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"The resilience in the prices paid component feeds into the concern that rates are likely to remain higher for longer."

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

The yield on the 10-year benchmark note was steady near the nine-month high it hit due, partly, to Fitch downgrading the United States from a AAA rating to AA+ earlier this week.

Stocks closed marginally lower on Thursday weighed down by the latest batch of economic data and earnings downgrades.

At 05:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 83 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 20.75 points, or 0.46%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 97 points, or 0.63%.

Tupperware shot up 55.4% in premarket trading after it finalized an agreement with its lenders to restructure its debt obligations in an effort to turn around its business.

Amgen was up 1.1%, although in low volumes after it reported a higher quarterly profit on strong sales of its cholesterol, osteoporosis and other drugs. Its planned acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics is delayed due to regulatory scrutiny.

Sports-betting firm DraftKings shares surged 13.7% after it raised its fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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