Stocks rallied on Thursday ahead of the US employment report. Apparently, investors are balancing corporate results and jobless claims against the threat of the COVID-19 delta variant.
The S&P 500 hit record highs and closed 0.48% higher yesterday, while dollar showed a decline amid a decrease in initial jobless claims.
Data on the US labor market will also remain as a key window to the economic outlook. Recently, ADP reported that non-farm employment is much softer than expected, while growth for US service industries is advancing sharply.
"While jobless claims have been a little volatile in the past few months, we are starting to see a gradual decrease, which suggests that more people are hiring, and the historic lows in trade deficits are a testament to the demand we see from consumers. So while there may be a shortage of supply in the labor market and goods, it is encouraging to see strong demand, even as concerns about the delta strain gravitate towards investors, " E * Trade Financial Managing Director Mike Loewengart explained.
Other important events for today are:
- policy decision of the Reserve Bank of India;
- US employment for July;
- data on employment and business activity in Canada.