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On June 28, 2021, a surveillance camera is spotted outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, United States. ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS Reuters, July 2 – On Friday, futures tracking the S&P 500 held near record highs as investors waited for more clarity on the U.S. jobs market and the destiny of loose monetary policy ahead of carefully watched employment statistics. Following the reopening of the government, the Labor Department’s most comprehensive jobs report, scheduled at 8:30 a.m. ET, is likely to reveal that job growth surged in June as employers increased perks for workers amid surging demand. find out more Nonfarm payrolls were expected to rise by 700,000 jobs last month, according to economists polled by Reuters, after growing by 559,000 in May. In recent sessions, markets have been led by inflation and economic data, with investors concerned that a stronger-than-expected economic rebound and out-of-control inflation could compel the Federal Reserve to withdraw its assistance. “The market clearly needs a strong figure to keep its upbeat mood,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. “A surprise weakness in jobs figures wouldn’t get the Fed to do more, when inflation is hovering around a worryingly high 5% and it’s not even sure that it’s a peak,” he added. Despite this, the S&P 500 began the second half of the year with its sixth consecutive all-time closing high in the previous session, fueled by a broad-based rise led by so-called “value” companies tied to the economy. The focus now switches to the second-quarter earnings season and the status of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure program, which might help the stock market maintain its upward trend. On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled United States House of Representatives passed a $715 billion surface transportation and water infrastructure bill, which Democrats regard as a first step toward sweeping infrastructure legislation that Congress intends to pass in September. find out more Markets will be looking for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting next week, which will provide more information on policymakers’ views on inflation, bond tapering, and interest rates at a time when easy monetary policy appears to be reaching an inflection point amid a booming US economy. Dow e-minis were up two points, or 0.01 percent, S&P 500 e-minis were up two points, or 0.05 percent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 29.5 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6:41 a.m. ET. Rate-sensitive Before the opening bell, shares of Bank of America (BAC.N), Wells Fargo (WFC.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Citigroup (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) traded mixed. Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N) surged 27% after the space tourism company announced that billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson would fly to the edge of space on the company’s test flight on July 11, defeating fellow aspiring billionaire astronaut Jeff Bezos. find out more Devik Jain contributed reporting from Bengaluru, and Maju Samuel edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More

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