Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Point Lower Ahead of Government Shutdown Deadline

Spotify Stock Drops as CEO Ek to Transition to Executive Chairman Role

12 minutes ago

Spotify Technology (SPOT) CEO and founder Daniel Ek will be switching to a new role on Jan. 1. Shareholders did not respond positively when the news dropped.

Spotify shares dropped 4% in premarket trading after the company announced the Ek will become Executive Chairman on New Year’s Day. The Swedish music streamer also said that Gustav Söderström, co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Alex Norström, co-President and Chief Business Officer, would become co-CEOs.

“This evolution formalizes how Spotify has successfully operated since 2023 with the co-presidents largely leading strategic development and operational execution of Spotify,” the company said. “As Executive Chairman, Ek’s role will more closely reflect a European chairman setup, where he will determine capital allocation, map the long-term future of Spotify and continue to provide support and guidance to its senior team.”

Spotify shares entered Tuesday up more than 60% this year.

What To Expect From the September Jobs Report This Week—If It’s Released

30 minutes ago

Forecasters say the job market likely bounced back in September, but we many not know for sure for some time: a government shutdown could delay Friday’s crucial report on hiring. 

The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to show the U.S. economy added 45,000 jobs in September, up from 22,000 in August, while the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.3%, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

 However, the report could be delayed by at least a few weeks, as the federal government is on track to shut down due to an impasse between Democratic and Republican lawmakers over healthcare funding.

The report, whenever it’s released, will shed light on how well the job market is holding up after a sharp hiring slowdown during the summer amid uncertainty about the impact of tariffs, resulting in the economy losing jobs for the first time since 2020 in June. The pullback in hiring, in addition to a steep downward revision to job growth statistics for 2024 and early 2025, has raised concerns that the stable yet stagnant job market could take a turn for the worse in the coming months.

Some economists expect the job market to stabilize after turmoil over the summer.

“In our view though, the recent weakness is largely just a one-time correction, rather than the start of a worsening momentum slowdown,” economists at Nomura led by chief developed market economist David Seif wrote in a commentary. 

The addition of 45,000 jobs would be low by historical standards, but could be enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising, economists said, since President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration has reduced the number of job seekers.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Stock Futures Point Lower Ahead of Government Shutdown Deadline

50 minutes ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures were 0.2% lower.

Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1%.