United States stock futures were largely unchanged in after-hours trading on Thursday (Friday AEST), as investors digested record-setting gains and paused for the Independence Day holiday.
By 9:25 am AEST (11:25 pm GMT), futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 were all trading 0.1% lower.
The muted movement in futures came after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs, securing their third consecutive weekly advance. The Dow Jones rose 0.77% during Thursday’s session and now sits just 0.41% shy of its own all-time peak.
Investor enthusiasm was fuelled by a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 147,000 in June, beating expectations for 110,000, while May’s reading was revised upward.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1%, bolstering confidence in the underlying strength of the U.S. economy.
Prior to the data, markets had priced in a near-term interest rate cut amid signs of a cooling labour market. However, the solid jobs report caused traders to scale back expectations, effectively ruling out a rate cut in July.
Markets also remain sensitive to geopolitical developments, with the clock ticking down to President Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline for the resumption of wide-ranging tariffs.
Optimism was lifted earlier this week after Trump announced a new trade agreement with Vietnam, raising hopes for further deals to mitigate the economic fallout from protectionist measures.
In a further boost to investor sentiment, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday passed Trump’s sweeping tax and spending legislation. While the bill promises significant fiscal stimulus, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it will add $3.4 trillion to the already $36.2 trillion national debt.
Wall Street closed early on Thursday and will remain shut on Friday in observance of the U.S. Independence Day public holiday.
