US stocks tick higher after July jobs report beats forecasts

8.40am: Jobs boost US stock futures ticked higher after non-farm payolls rose by 943,000 in July, more than the 870,000 forecast, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.4% last month, down from 5.9% in June and more than the predicted drop to 5.7%, the Labor Department said on Friday. In reaction to the data, Robert Alster, CIO at investment management firm Close Brothers Asset Management commented: “Payrolls continue to paint a positive picture of the US jobs market, but the Fed will be keeping a close eye on the detail before making any decisions. Companies are still struggling to hire, with job gains constrained by either not enough workers, the wrong workers in the wrong place, or the wrong jobs at the wrong salaries. Teen workers currently make up a higher proportion of the labour market than usual, and Powell’s dashboard reveals an uneven recovery in terms of diversity and inclusion. “What’s more, much of the unemployment data coming out of the US, especially initial jobless claims, has been distorted by systemic changes to collection and reporting across different states throughout the pandemic. This has led to incomplete or inaccurate readings, and will take some time to fix. Until we have a clearer reading of the landscape, both in terms of quality of data and some post-Covid clarity, it is unlikely the Fed will be in a rush to signal a change in policy.” 7.40am: Caution rules ahead of data US stocks look set for a fairly flat open on Friday reflecting caution ahead of a July jobs report that will give insights into the pace of the economic rebound from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up less than 0.1%, albeit following a 0.8% jump on Thursday. The broader S&P 500 futures were roughly flat, while technology-focused Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.1%. US job growth is expected to have remained robust in July amid shifts in seasonal employment at schools caused by the pandemic, which could mask some softening in underlying labor market conditions as the boost from fiscal stimulus fades. Non-farm payrolls are forecast to increase by 870,000 in July, with the unemployment rate seen falling to 5.7% from 5.9%, and average hourly earnings are seen rising 0.3% Investors were also weighing up the latest mixed set of quarterly earnings. Ahead of the opening bell in New York, shares of American International Group pushed higher after it swung to a second-quarter profit, aided by gains in its private equity investments. But Beyond Meat’s stock fell after the maker of non-meat products reported a wider quarterly loss, and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) Group dropped after the travel company posted a second-quarter loss. Four other things to watch on Friday: India's top court on Friday handed Amazon.com Inc a major victory in a dispute where it sought to block its partner Future Group from selling $3.4 billion in assets to rival Reliance Industries. Rupert Murdoch’s media group News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) returned to profit in the year to the end of June, with the owner of the Wall Street Journal and The Sun seeing revenues rise 4% to US$9.4bn from US$9.0bn the year before, while net income (post-tax profit) was positive at US$389mln compared to a loss the year before of US$1.6bn when the company took write-downs of US$1.7bn. Spaceship company Virgin Galactic said it will open ticket sales for space flights starting at $450,000 a seat, weeks after billionaire founder Richard Branson's high-profile trip to the edge of space. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Co said activist investor Nelson Peltz would step down from the company's board at the end of his term later this year.