Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTFiona CraigThu, July 2, 2026 at 11:25 AM GMT+2 3 min readNasdaq sign on a tall building ©Dries BuytaertU.S. equity futures moved lower on Thursday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the closely watched U.S. employment report, while easing oil prices and renewed weakness in semiconductor stocks also influenced market sentiment.The monthly non-farm payrolls report is expected to provide fresh clues on the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decisions, making it the key event of the holiday-shortened trading week.Futures slip before payrolls releaseBy 07:13 GMT, futures tracking the major U.S. indices were trading lower. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 95 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures declined 22 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 250 points, or 0.8%.Wall Street closed lower in the previous session, weighed down by another sell-off in semiconductor shares following reports that Meta Platforms is exploring ways to commercialise surplus artificial intelligence computing capacity.Investor sentiment was partly supported by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who acknowledged that inflation risks had eased. However, he reiterated that he would not provide forward guidance on interest rates and remained committed to restoring price stability.Weaker-than-expected U.S. private payrolls and manufacturing data also encouraged investors to scale back expectations of a July interest rate increase, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank.Payrolls report expected to guide Fed outlookMarkets are now focused on the release of the June U.S. non-farm payrolls report.Economists expect the U.S. economy to have created 114,000 jobs during the month, compared with 172,000 in May, while the unemployment rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.3%.Non-farm payrolls have exceeded expectations in each of the past three months, lifting the three-month average to 188,000, the highest level in two years.The resilience of the labour market had previously supported expectations that the Federal Reserve would have room to raise interest rates further to contain inflation. However, those expectations have softened this week after private-sector employment data pointed to weaker hiring momentum.Oil declines as Iran negotiations continueOil prices extended their recent decline as investors assessed signs of progress in indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran.Talks held in Doha concluded without a final agreement, although Qatari officials described the discussions as making positive progress. U.S. President Donald Trump said his representatives held "very good meetings" in Qatar, while Vice President JD Vance confirmed that negotiations remain ongoing.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info