Stock market today: Nasdaq futures rise, Dow and S&P 500 waver ahead of July jobs report

US stock futures mostly drifted as investors awaited the July jobs report for a fresh picture of the labor market.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) were roughly flat, while contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) were in the green, rising 0.5% after a mixed day in markets.

The attention is on the July jobs report, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. While discussions around inflation and furious AI investment have overshadowed the largely stable labor market in recent months, Friday’s report offers a key input for the Federal Reserve as it weighs an interest rate hike at its next meeting. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect that the US economy added 80,000 positions in July and the unemployment rate didn’t budge from 4.2%.

Oil prices extended gains on Friday as the lack of a US-Iran peace deal fueled uncertainty over when the war will end. On Thursday night, an Iranian semi-official news agency reported explosions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to Iran intercepting “hostile targets.” Meanwhile, Iran and Oman continue to work toward a deal to reopen the strait, with the latest reports suggesting Iran will seek to block US and Israeli ships from the critical waterway.

How the recent fluctuations in oil prices affect inflation expectations and Treasury markets remains to be seen. The New York Fed’s one-year inflation expectations data is the other key economic report to watch on Friday, aside from the jobs report.

Friday’s earnings calendar is lighter than investors have come to expect in recent days. Vistra Corp. (VST), Oklo (OKLO), Under Armour (UA), and Wendy’s (WEN) comprise today’s major reports.