US stock futures steady with nonfarm payrolls in focus, Gamestop surges

U.S. stock index futures moved little in evening deals on Thursday, tracking a muted session on Wall Street as investors hunkered down before key payrolls data that is likely to factor into interest rates.

Meme stock GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) was an exception, extending strong gains into aftermarket trade after influencer Keith Gill said he will hold a livestream on Friday.

Still, Wall Street indexes remained close to record highs this week as soft economic readings in the lead-up to Friday all pushed up bets that the Federal Reserve will have more confidence to begin cutting interest rates soon.

S&P 500 Futures steadied at 5,364.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.1% to 19,076.25 points by 19:06 ET (23:06 GMT). Dow Jones Futures were flat at 38,970.0 points.

Nonfarm payrolls to cap off week of weak data
Nonfarm payrolls data for May is due on Friday, and is expected to show payrolls increased slightly in the month, reflecting sustained strength in the labor market.

But a string of other readings this week suggested that the labor market was cooling. Job openings fell, while ADP employment data also read lower than expected.

Beyond inflation, the labor market is also a key consideration for the Fed in cutting interest rates.

Investors were seen rapidly ramping up bets that the Fed will begin trimming interest rates in September, following the weak data.

The Fed is set to meet next week, and is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. But anticipation of the meeting is also expected to factor into market caution.

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Wall St near record highs, heads for weekly gains
Wall Street indexes saw a middling close on Thursday amid some profit-taking in market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and as investors awaited more definitive cues on interest rates.

The S&P 500 steadied at 5,352.96 points, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.1% to 17,170.64 points. Both indexes were up 1.4% and 2.6% for the week, respectively, after hitting record highs on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to finish at 38,886.17 points on Friday, but lagged its peers this week with a 0.5% gain. It also remained well below record highs hit earlier in May.

Aftermarket movers: Gamestop extends gains, Docusign falls
Among major aftermarket movers, meme stock Gamestop surged about 26% after rallying over 47% during the session. Influencer Keith Gill, or “RoaringKitty,” who had helped spark the memestock mania of 2021, said he will host a livestream on Youtube this Friday- his first in almost four years.

Gill had last sunday revealed he held about 5 million shares and 120,000 call options in the videogame retailer- a position worth at least $200 million now.

Software firm DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) fell 6% after its second quarter guidance disappointed, even as it beat expectations with its first quarter earnings.