Dow Jones Futures: Market Rally Eyes Jobs Report With Several Earnings Movers; Apple, Microsoft Trade Bullishly – Investor’s Business Daily

Dow Jones futures were little changed Friday morning, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with the July jobs report looming. The stock market rally had a solid Thursday, with the Nasdaq hitting a record high and the S&P 500 nearly doing so.

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Floor & Decor (FND), Cloudflare (NET), Carvana (CVNA) and Paylocity (PCTY) were key earnings after the close. FND stock and Cloudflare retreated from record highs overnight. CVNA stock jumped while Paylocity was indicated higher.

Growth stocks generally fared well Thursday, though new IPO Robinhood Markets (HOOD) tumbled as the free trading app announced a HOOD stock sale a week after its IPO. HOOD stock is still up sharply this week.

Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft stock are tightening up, consolidating after earnings and strong runs. Apple stock arguably is in buy range now, but both the iPhone maker and Microsoft (MSFT) are worth watching for future buys.

MSFT stock is on IBD Leaderboard and IBD Long-Term Leaders. Floor & Decor and NET stock are on the IBD 50.

Jobs Report

The Labor Department releases the July jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to rise 900,000 with the unemployment rate falling to 5.7%. The July jobs report comes two days after the ADP employment report estimated private employment grew by 330,000 last month, far below estimates.

A strong jobs report could encourage the Federal Reserve to begin discussing winding down its massive asset purchases. A weak report could push “taper talk” past the September Fed meeting.

Dow Jones Futures Today

Dow Jones futures rose a fraction vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures climbed slightly and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.15%.

Crude oil and copper futures rose.

Expect the July jobs report to swing Dow Jones futures.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn’t necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the stock market rally …….