Stocks seen opening lower as jobs report looms
By CNNMoney.com staff
On Thursday July 2, 2009, 4:05 am EDT
Buzz up! 0 Print.U.S. stocks were poised to open lower Thursday, the end of a holiday-shortened week, as investors awaited the government's June jobs report.
At 4:05 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were lower.
Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance.
On Wednesday, Wall Street started the third quarter with a modest rally. Reports on manufacturing and housing indicated that the pace of the recession is slowing.
All financial markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
Economic reports: The June employment report is due out from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET. Employers are expected to have cut 365,000 jobs from their payrolls after cutting a much smaller-than-expected 345,000 in the previous month.
The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, is expected to have risen to 9.6% from a 26-year high of 9.4% in May.
The government will also release its weekly initial claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET, measuring the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. The measure is expected to dip to 615,000 from 627,000 the week before.
After the start of trading, the Commerce Department will release the May factory orders report. Orders are expected to have risen 0.9% after climbing 0.7% in April.
World markets: Asian markets ended lower Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.6%. European markets were down more than 1% in early trading.
Oil and money: The price of oil eased 26 cents to $69.05 a barrel. The dollar was higher against major currencies.
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