DJIA futures up 96 points (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 01 Jul - US futures were higher at the start of a holiday-shortened week that will update investors on the state of the US labor market.

Wall Street ended lower on Friday to close out a first half that left the S&P 500 14.5% higher and the Nasdaq some 18% as tech stocks continued to draw support from the AI frenzy. The Dow added a more modest 3.8% in the six months.

As the third quarter kicks off the prospects for interest rates remains the key theme as investors try to fathom out whether the Federal Reserve has leeway to ease monetary policy this year.

Stubborn inflation has led the Fed to put back the timetable for rate cuts and prompted traders to recalculate their expectations for the number of cuts this year.

A flurry of jobs data during the week will culminate Friday with the key monthly payrolls reading that investors will be monitoring closely for signs the jobs situation is softening.

The labor market is key to the debate about when the Fed can start cutting interest rates and whether it will be able to engineer a soft landing - taming inflation without triggering a recession.

Markets in the US will close early on July 3 and will remain closed on July 4 for Independence Day.

On the stocks front today, shares in Boeing were weaker premarket after it said it would buy Spirit AeroSystems in an all-share deal. Spirit shares jumped nearly 6%.

Futures on the Dow Jones were up 96.00 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 futures were up 14.25 points, or 0.26%, while futures on the Nasdaq were 53.75 points, or 0.27%, higher.

AAA-Sje

(RADIOCOR) 01-07-24 14:28:58 (0394) 5 NNNN