Jeremy C. Owens/MarketWatch
U.S. stock futures on Thursday pared gains to trade near break-even levels after a pair of economic reports showed continued strength in labor market but falling domestic productivity.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week stayed near prerecession lows, rising about 2,000 to 263,000, while a gauge of worker productivity fell 0.6% in the second quarter instead of 0.5%, revised government figures show, according to the Labor Department said Thursday.
S&P 500 futures ESU6, +0.03% were treading water at 2,170, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMU6, +0.07% gained 5 points, or less than 0.1%, at 18,400. Nasdaq-100 futures NQU6, +0.14% tacked on 5.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,780.
The economic reports come ahead of a highly anticipated nonfarm-payrolls report due Friday and as a parade of other data are set to be released later Thursday morning. The data could be key fodder in determining the path of monetary policy after Federal Reserve members have hinted that to time to hike rates is nearing.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.06% closed 0.2% lower for the session and down 0.1% for August, while the Dow DJIA, +0.08% shed 0.3% and lost 0.2% for the month. The S&P ended a five-month winning streak, and the blue-chip gauge halted a six-month advance.
The S&P has dropped in September 57% of the time, and it is the month with the weakest average performance, said Sam Stovall, U.S. equity strategist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, in a note.
“Monthly price declines and frequencies of negative returns were even greater during presidential election years without an incumbent candidate,” Stovall warned.
Read more: September is the worst month for U.S. stocks, and no one knows why
Economic news: At 9:45 a.m. Eastern, Markit is slated to deliver an August reading on manufacturing, and an Institute for Supply Management figure for that sector is due 15 minutes later. ISM’s gauge is expected to come in at 52.1% for last month.
Trump on immigration: ‘There will be no amnesty’
Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would deport "criminal illegal immigrants" in the U.S., and that anyone else here illegally could also be subject to deportation. Photo: Getty Images
A report on construction spending in July is due at 10 a.m. Eastern, with economists forecasting 0.6% growth, and August figures for auto sales are also on tap for Thursday.
Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar
Other markets: European stocks SXXP, +0.71% gained ground, helped by miners advancing after encouraging readings on China’s economy. Asian markets closed mixed, while oil futures CLV6, -1.70% traded lower after moving up earlier. Gold futures GCZ6, -0.16% edged lower, and a key dollar index DXY, +0.14% was little changed.
Individual movers: Shares in Salesforce.com Inc. CRM, -4.77% fell 6% in premarket action after the maker of software for customer relationship management late Wednesday gave lower-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.
Charter Communications Inc. CHTR, +2.94% rose 4% premarket following news the cable company is due to become an S&P 500 component after the close on Wednesday, replacing EMC Corp. EMC, -0.24% which is on track to be acquired by privately held PC maker Dell Corp.
Campbell Soup Co. CPB, -4.96% lost 4% premarket after the food giant posted weaker-than-anticipated quarterly results.
Vera Bradley Inc. VRA, +4.95% is also among the companies expected to post earnings before the open. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. SWHC, +1.75% and Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU, -0.95% are due to report quarterly results after the closing bell.
