In the latest premarket session on Friday, US stock futures exhibited a downward trend as investors awaited critical economic data. The release of the July unemployment rate, average hourly earnings, and nonfarm payroll figures, scheduled for 8:30 am ET, is heightening market volatility. Major indices showed significant drops: the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 0.83%, S&P 500 futures decreased by 1.14%, and Nasdaq futures dropped by 1.72%.
Economists predict that the unemployment rate for July will hold steady at 4.1%. In addition, nonfarm payroll figures are expected to show a decrease, projected to fall from 206,000 in June to 176,000 in July, as reported by Bloomberg. Average hourly earnings are anticipated to rise by 0.3%, consistent with the increase seen in June.
On the commodities front, oil prices are also declining, with Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude falling by 0.91% and 1% respectively. The equity markets witnessed notable activity as several companies made headlines. VSee Health ($VSEE) experienced a remarkable increase of 170% in premarket trading after announcing a partnership with Ava Robotics aimed at developing telepresence solutions for the inpatient intensive care sector.
Similarly, MKDWELL Tech's (MKDW) shares surged by 110%, building on a nearly 6% gain in the prior session. Akanda ($AKAN) also saw a robust increase, jumping 34% following a modest 3% decline the day before. However, not all news was positive. Procore Technologies ($PCOR) faced a significant drop of 24% after missing analyst expectations for Q2 revenue and providing a Q3 revenue outlook that disappointed investors.
Intel ($INTC) shares fell 22% after reporting lower Q2 earnings and revenues, in addition to announcing the suspension of dividends starting in Q4 as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative. Lastly, shares of Smith Micro Software ($SMSI) plummeted by 18% after revealing a larger-than-expected adjusted loss along with revenues that fell short of analyst forecasts for Q2..