Nasdaq 100 Futures Rise, Dow Jones, S&P 500 Gain as U.S. Jobs Rebound by 162,000 in August — LULU, PATH, DOCU in Focus
3m | Sep 4, 2026U.S. stock futures were mixed on Friday, as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices fell while the Nasdaq 100 index rose, following Thursday's higher close.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls surged by 162,000 in August, comfortably beating Wall Street estimates of roughly 56,000 and rebounding sharply from July’s revised gain of 21,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, providing investors with a reassuring signal of labor market resilience without stoking immediate wage-inflation fears.
Investors are eyeing the August jobs report, scheduled to be released ahead of the opening bell. Benzinga Pro estimates a rebound in the pace of monthly job growth, from a loss of 23,000 jobs in July to a gain of about 56,000 in August.
Tensions remain elevated following a lethal explosion at an Iranian wedding that killed four and injured at least 68. According to Reuters, Weapons experts indicate the damage aligns with a U.S. 500 lb air-dropped bomb, prompting a U.S. military investigation.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.76%, and the two-year bond was at 4.34%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 50.2% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates at its September meeting.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(NYSE: SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.038% at $773.46, while the QQQ advanced by 0.50% to $721.28.
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