Dow pulls to above the flatline after morning struggles as traders digest jobs data

12:30pm: Nasdaq finds little upward momentum The Dow clawed its way out of an early deficit to 15 points higher at midday at 34,615. The Nasdaq was down 117 points, 0.9%, at 13,641, and the S&P 500 shed 12 points, 0.3%, to 4,196. "On days like today, the market commentator world tends to divide in two camps, one claiming that ADP numbers do not matter and the other that they are a useful guide to the non-farm payroll, now less than 24 hours away," IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote. "Today’s spike in job numbers from the private payroll firm are welcome news, and the doubters will be given reason to remain quiet thanks to the strong initial claims number, which has fallen below 400K for the first time since mid-March 2020." 11:05am: Proactive North America headlines: FSD Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:HUGE) (CSE:HUGE) (FRA:0K9) appoints Adnan Bashir as an independent company director Sassy Resources Corporation (CSE:SASY) (OTCQB:SSYRF) (FRA:4E7)closes $2.2 million Gander Gold financing DGTL Holdings Inc (CVE:DGTL) (OTCQB:DGTHF) (FRA:A2QB0L) partners with video content producer Shuttlerock ahead of Hashoff 2.0 launch on social media Great Bear Resources Ltd (CVE:GBR) (OTCQX:GTABF) delivers more high-grade gold intercepts on two-year anniversary of landmark LP Fault discovery The Parent Company's (NEO:GRAM) (OTCQX:GRAMF) social equity fund invests in Josephine & Billie’s, a cannabis retailer bringing back the 'tea pad' with a focus on women of color Goldseek Resources Inc (CSE:GSK) (FRA:4KG) (OTCMKTS:GSKKF) kicks off exploration at four targets at Val D’Or North project, Quebec Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd (CVE:NSP) (OTCPINK:NSPDF) (FRA:50N) inks LOI for Canadian manufacturing and distribution rights to Flexitarian Foods’ plant-based products Marrone Bio Innovations Inc (NASDAQ: MBII) strikes partnership with ATP Nutrition to distribute Stargus Biofungicide on Canadian broad-acre crops Albert Labs going public soon as ME Resource Corp (CSE:MEC) (OTC:MEEXF) submits listing statement to the Canadian Stock Exchange PlantX Life Inc (CSE:VEGA) (OTCQB:PLXTF) (FRA:WNT1) partners with MK Cuisine Global to open new 'ghost kitchen' in LA TechX Technologies Inc (CSE:TECX) (OTC:TECXF) (FRA:C0B1) portfolio cryptocurrency exchange company Calyxt sees revenue double in May amid active user surge Cabral Gold Inc (CVE:CBR) (OTCPINK:CBGZF) adds surface rights covering 185 hectares at its MG gold deposit in Brazil Empower Clinics Inc (CSE:CBDT) (OTCQB:EPWCF) (FRA:8EC) to acquire Medi + Sure Canada in C$3.5M deal strengthening direct-to-consumer testing offering Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) closes on its acquisition of Helix eSports and ggCircuit Predictmedix Inc (CSE:PMED) (OTCQB:PMEDF) set to deploy its Safe Entry Stations at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival Gatling Exploration  Inc (CVE:GTR) (OTCQB:GATGF) (FRA:G28A) poised for drilling at Kir Vit prospect in third quarter after receiving permit Kintara Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:KTRA) (FRA:3DM) enrolls last patient in Phase 2 VAL-083 trial for glioblastoma multiforme NEXE Innovations Inc (CVE:NEXE) (OTCMKTS:NEXNF) (FRA:NX5) says its Xoma Superfoods product line now available on Amazon in US and Canada LexaGene Holdings Inc (CVE:LXG) (OTCMKTS:LXXGF) (FRA:5XS2) in partnership to develop new diagnostics tests for companion animals Renforth Resources Inc (CSE:RFR) (OTCPINK:RFHRF) (FRA:9RR) reports more Parbec drill assays, including 7m at 7.11 g/t gold Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc (CSE:AGN) (OTCQB:AGNPF) (FRA:AGW) expands Ifenprodil research to pancreatic cancer in new clinical stud HempFusion Wellness Inc (TSE:CBD.U) (OTCQX:CBDHF) (FRA:8OO) launches Private Label division with US grocery retailer deal Pacific Empire Minerals Corp (CVE:PEMC) (OTCQB:PEMSF) (FRA:1YK) closes second tranche of private placement units NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCQB:NEXCF) (CSE:NTAR) (NEO:NTAR) (FRA:N29) unveils EdTechx virtual education platform created with Microsoft Azure Psyched Wellness Ltd (CSE:PSYC) (OTCQB:PSYCF) (FRA:5U9) contracts ad agency to build brand and marketing strategy Canntab Therapeutics Limited (CSE:PILL) (OTCQB:CTABF) (FRA:TBF1) brings in C$1,259,250 gross from early exercise of warrants Mindset Pharma Inc (CSE:MSET) (OTCQB:MSSTF) (FRA:9DF) selects next-generation psychedelic compound MSP-1014 as its lead clinical candidate CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) expands agreement with Pioneer Power Solutions, joins industry grouping Fobi AI Inc's (CVE:MTRX) (OTCQB:RACMF) name change from Loop Insights approved by TSX Venture Exchange Los Andes Copper  Ltd (CVE:LA) (OTCMKTS:LSANF) (FRA:L41A) closes US$5M convertible debenture investment from Queen's Road Capital Nano One Materials Corp (CVE:NNO) (OTCPINK:NNOMF) (FRA:LBMB)  strengthens relationship with giant Johnson Matthey with joint development deal 9:38am: Wall Street on back foot The main indices on Wall Street were on the back foot in early deals on Thursday despite better than expected US jobs numbers. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.58% at 34,399 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.61% to 4,182 and the Nasdaq fell 0.73% to 13,655. The lower start came despite US weekly jobless claims falling below 400,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to the Department of Labor. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to 385,000 last week, slightly down on the forecasts of a figure of 387,000 and the lowest level since March 14 last year. This compares to 405,000 the previous week, itself revised down by 1,000. Earlier, the latest report from payrolls operator ADP showed that 978,000 new private sector jobs were created in May, up from 742,000 the previous month and beating expectations of a figure of 650,000. Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, said: “Private payrolls showed a marked improvement from recent months and the strongest gain since the early days of the recovery. “While goods producers grew at a steady pace, it is service providers that accounted for the lion’s share of the gains, far outpacing the monthly average in the last six months. Companies of all sizes experienced an uptick in job growth, reflecting the improving nature of the pandemic and economy.” What this signals for the non-farm payrolls on Friday, however, is anyone's guess. 7:45am: Wall Street to start lower Wall Street is expected to open lower as investors focus on the latest US jobs data due shortly. Ahead of Friday's widely watched non-farm payroll numbers - which came in well below forecasts last month with a rise of only 266,000 - come the private payroll figures for May from ADP. They are expected to show an increase of 750,000, up from 742,000 in April. However last time round the survey gave little guidance as to the official figure. Also due are the weekly jobless claims, which are expected to fall from 406,000 to a new post-pandemic low of 387,000. Deutsche Bank for one however is expecting a rise to 435,000. So with investors torn between welcoming an economic recovery and worrying about inflation, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to open 198 points or 0.6% lower while the S&P 500 is set to fall 0.69% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.94%. Four things to watch for on Thursday: Companies in the earnings diary today include semiconductor and software firm Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), cybersecurity group Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) and athletic apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) Investors may also be keeping an eye on AGMs from NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) which are due to kick off today Shares in cinema chain and Reddit memestock favourite AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) may also be in focus to see if the stock can continue its breakneck ascent On the macro front, aside from the jobs data there may also be interest in a number of US PMI readings