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Futures up: S&P 500 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.62%, Dow 0.22%
Aug 9 (Reuters) - Futures tied to Wall Street's main
indexes climbed on Friday, as dovish signals from Federal
Reserve officials and data showing a still-resilient labor
market further boosted sentiment.
Chipmaker Nvidia led the gains in megacap
technology stocks in the premarket trading, with a 2.5% advance.
Global markets have witnessed extreme turbulence this week
following July's dour jobs data that raised fears of a slowdown
in the United States, and a surge in yen after Bank of Japan's
surprise rate hike resulted in unwinding of currency carry
trades.
The volatility has since abated, with the CBOE Volatility
Index declining to 23.21 points, from a high of 65.73 at
the start of the week.
U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday after jobless claims last
week fell more than expected, soothing worries that the labor
market was rapidly deteriorating. Still, all major indexes were
lower for the week, with the Dow Jones down about 0.7%.
Fed policymakers' comments further supported the gains. They
said they were more confident that inflation is cooling enough
to allow interest-rate cuts ahead, and will take their cues on
the size and timing of those rate cuts from the economic data.
Money markets see a 54.5% chance the Fed will cut interest
rates in September by 50 basis points, and expect two more cuts
by the end of 2024, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
Investors will now look ahead to next week's readings on the
consumer prices and retail sales for July for fresh evidence on
chances of a soft landing for the American economy.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 22.25
points, or 0.42%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 115.25
points, or 0.62%, Dow E-minis were up 88 points, or
0.22%
Among individual stocks, Elf Beauty ( ELF ) fell 8% as it
forecast annual sales and profit below estimates, and said it
would raise product prices if Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump comes to power and hikes tariffs on imports from
China.
SoundHound AI ( SOUN ) was up 2.5% after the artificial
intelligence (AI) voice provider beat Wall Street estimates for
second-quarter revenue and raised its full-year revenue
forecast.
Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) climbed 5.6% as it
expects net bookings to grow in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, as
the videogame publisher gears up for the launch of its
long-awaited "Grand Theft Auto VI" next year.