(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose in the early hours of Friday after the country narrowly averted a debt default, with focus now shifting to payrolls data that will determine whether the Federal Reserve sticks with its interest rate-hiking regime.
The Senate passed a bill late on Thursday to lift the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, avoiding a catastrophic, first-ever default.
Attention now turns to data which will likely show job growth slowed in May, with wages coming off the boil that could allow the Fed to skip an interest rate hike this month for the first time since starting its aggressive policy tightening more than a year ago.
The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report, due 0830 ET, is expected to still show a tight labor market. The unemployment rate is forecast climbing to 3.5% from 3.4% in April, while nonfarm payrolls is seen increasing by 190,000 jobs last month after rising 253,000 in April.
Fed funds futures trading showed an over 70% probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its June 13-14 policy meeting. [FEDWATCH]
At 5:08 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 128 points, or 0.39%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15.75 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 56.25 points, or 0.39%.
Among early movers, Lululemon Athletica Inc jumped 14.8% premarket upon raising its annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday as wealthy Americans bought its pricey activewear despite high inflation.
This helped boost shares of sportswear companies in both the U.S. and Europe, with Dow Jones Industrial Average component Nike Inc up 2.7%, while Germany’s Adidas and Puma rose around 3.5% each in European trading.
Broadcom Inc fell 2.0% after reporting quarterly results.
The chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates, however, analysts said it was disappointing as expectations were stacked up against a blockbuster outlook provided by Nvidia Corp last week. Shares of the world’s most valuable chipmaker rose 1.5%.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
