U.S. stock index futures rose slightly as investors digested weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report along with weekly jobless claims.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent at 17,703.00, and those for the S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,075.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 picked up 0.2 percent at 4,432.25.
DATA:
U.S. job growth slowed in June and Americans left the labor force in droves, according to a government report today that could tamper expectations for a September interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Nonfarm payrolls increased 223,000 last month, the Labor Department said. Adding to the report's soft note, April and May data was revised to show 60,000 fewer jobs were added than previously reported.
The Commerce Department’s figures on factory orders for May are scheduled for release at 10 a.m.
MOVERS:
Health Net (NYSE:HNT) rose 15 percent in premarket trading after Centene (NYSE:CNC) said would buy the healthcare management company for an enterprise value of $6.8 billion. Centene rose 2.1 percent.
Insurer MBIA (NYSE:MBI) rose 4.6 percent after Puerto Rico's PREPA avoided default by making a $415 million payment to creditors.
Xoom (NASDAQ:XOOM) rose 21.4 percent after PayPal, the electronic payments division of eBay, said it would buy the digital money transfer provider for about $890 million.
International Speedway (NASDAQ:ISCA) declined 0.9 percent after the company’s quarterly profit and revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations.
Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) surged 8.1 percent after the business-software company raised its outlook for the year following better-than-expected earnings.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks turned slightly lower after comments from Greece’s finance minister on the debt crisis.
In Asia, Chinese shares continued their slide, leaving the Shanghai Composite down 3.4 percent.
COMMODITIES:
Brent crude futures were trading 43 cents higher at $62.44 per barrel, after dropping 2.5 percent in the previous session. Front-month U.S. crude futures were trading at $56.97, up 1 cent, following a 4.2-percent drop yesterday.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,167.76 an ounce, after dropping about 1 percent in the last two sessions. The metal fell to $1,166.35 on Tuesday, its lowest in nearly four weeks.