IXIC: Nasdaq Futures Pop as Traders Eye Jam-Packed Week with Jobs Report to Wrap It Up

New week, new data dumping – it’s stacked with some juicy reports but the ultimate test for stocks is coming Friday. Drumroll… Nonfarm payrolls.

🏷️ Futures Up After Losing Week

• Futures contracts tied to the Nasdaq Composite index IXIC were trading to the upside by 0.3% Monday morning after a tough week bruised the mAIn characters last week.
• AI stocks got battered, leading to a losing five-day stretch for the three main equity gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 0.7% on the week, its weakest weekly showing since early August. The S&P 500 gave up 0.3% and the Dow scratched off 0.2%.
• Investors got a bit antsy over the recent rounds of hyperscalers’ hyper-scaling their collab around AI. Nvidia’s mammoth $100 billion partnership with OpenAI weighed the most – that’s a lot of cash, even for the $4.3 trillion monster.

📝 Big Week Ahead

• The new week promises to bring exciting trading opportunities with some key data bits and news updates rolling in. The upcoming string of reports could either confirm the next leg up or further dent the optimism.
• Tuesday’s CB Consumer Confidence is the first big one. Analysts expect the reading to show a slight pullback to 95.2 in September from 97.5 in August. In other words, the mighty American consumer may not have been too excited to splurge in this economy.
• Eurozone inflation (unrelated to US stocks) comes Wednesday with the print expected to show prices grew 2.2% in September from 2.0% in August.

🔥 Hot Jobs or Cold Jobs?

• Wednesday continues with US private-sector job growth where expectations are pinned at 53,000 new hires in September, fewer by 1,000 from August. Some consider this the canary in the coal mine. Same day, ISM Manufacturing PMI and Prices are set for release.
• And the big day – Friday is coming to bring the nonfarm payrolls data USNFP for September. Analysts eyeball a modest 51,000 new hires, up from a cold 22,000 positions filled in August.
• This one’s huge because of its implications on interest rate USINTR expectations. A number too hot and the Federal Reserve could push back on rate-cut hopes. A number under the flatline could both hurt the economic outlook but improve the rate-cut odds.