Job Reports Overperform, Dow  Futures Climb

Job reports are one of the primary economic drivers for US index prices. Underperformance might mean a rough patch for various indexes, both in the US and the rest of the world. Luckily, this week investors can rejoice as the job data overperformed expectations, creating a soar in Dow futures. Various stock indexes jumped on Friday, just before a holiday-prolonged weekend ahead of us. Despite threats from the new delta variant, the economy seems to be recovering from the impact COVID had on it.

As for the specific data, the futures for the leading US indexes all displayed upward movement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 98 points which translates to a 0.3% rise. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 12.70 points, coming up to a total of 4,323.25; that’s an identical 0.3% rise as well. The winner was Nasdaq-100, with its futures going 77.50 points above the previous day. That puts the total at 14,626 and presents a growth of 0.5%.

Following a rocky year in 2020, indexes seem to be growing steadily in 2021. Namely, the S&P 500 had a record close on Thursday and for the sixth day in a row. In 2021, the index has managed to break a whopping 34 records, reaching unseen heights. While the other two major indexes show similar growth patterns, they’re just shy of record-breaking status.

This week’s growth was driven primarily by the positive job data, which came as a surprise. Namely, the newest job report displayed that 662,000 jobs in the private sector were fulfilled. That beat forecasts by a significant margin, with nearly 10% more than what experts predicted. The initial predictions fell short by 57,000, meaning they underestimated how much markets would recover. Even May job data has been adjusted, jumping from 559,000 to a much higher 583,0000.