Future U.S. stock markets advanced Thursday ahead of data that will offer new indications of the pace of labor market recovery.
The S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% more, a day after the broad market indicator was dragged down by technology stocks. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.3%, indicating that technology stocks may regain some ground. The benchmark fell nearly 1.7% on Wednesday. Contracts linked to the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2%.
Investor optimism has been dampened in recent days by mixed signals from different parts of the economy. Covid-19 government relief spending and vaccine deployment are helping to boost economic growth. This has led to an increase in demand for consumer products.
But there are indications that the global rebound could slow with an extension of Covid-19 blockades and growing restrictions on the supply chain of crucial products such as vaccines and electronic chips. The new stimulus controls have also raised concerns that inflation will rise sharply as the economy recovers, curbing the appetite for both government bonds and technology stocks.
“From here, you could have in aggregate flattening markets. Let’s look for a new narrative,” Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “Growth could recover, value could wait and, on the surface, nothing happens. I have modest expectations for the market until we have an idea of what the next catalyst will be. “