Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of August Jobs Report
U.S. stock futures are edging higher in the pre-market trading on Friday, ahead of the August employment report. The report will provide an indication of the state of the U.S. labor market recovery. Consensus economists are looking for non-farm payrolls to have risen by 725,000, decelerating from the previous month’s 943,000, with an unemployment rate down to a fresh pandemic-era low of 5.2%.
If anything, Matt Weller, global head of research at Forex.com said, “Most market watchers aren’t expecting the U.S central bank to announce its taper plans until its November meeting at the earliest, a full three non-farm payroll reports from now,” He continued, “Nonetheless, traders will still key in on Friday’s big jobs report to see if the labor market is recovering as expected.”
Regardless of how the reports go, there would be other key factors to note in the stock market now. With the likes of Hurricane Ida and rising coronavirus cases to consider, investors could be keeping a close eye on stocks today. As of 6:54 a.m. ET, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are edging up by 0.16%, 0.18%, and 0.11% respectively.
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MongoDB (MDB) Stock Surges On Better-Than-Expected Earnings
MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) seemingly wowed investors with its second-quarter results after yesterday’s closing bell. This is apparent as MDB stock soared by over 12% in after-hours trading. Diving right into it, MongoDB raked in total quarterly revenue of $199 million. This marks a sizable 44% year-over-year jump. According to the company, this is mostly thanks to strong customer growth throughout the quarter. In detail, MongoDB boasts a customer base of over 29,000 across 100 countries.
For the uninitiated, MongoDB is essentially a software company. It develops and provides commercial support for its MongoDB general purpose database platform. The likes of which customers can access via the company’s flagship MongoDB Atlas service. Now, a good measure of how the company is doing now could be its Atlas revenue. In fact, MongoDB saw its Atlas revenue skyrocket by over 83% year-over-year just this quarter. CEO Dev Ittycheria said, “MongoDB is increasingly becoming a strategic technology partner and standard for customers, which supports our ability to generate attractive growth at scale for the foreseeable future.“
Because of all this, I could see investors eyeing MDB stock now. With the current pace of digital acceleration globally, organizations would turn to the company’s services. This would serve to keep their applications and next-gen digital infrastructure operating on industry-leading tech. Evidently, MongoDB has and continues to benefit from this trend, seeing as its shares are up by over 240% since its pandemic era low.
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Walmart Going All Out On Workforce Expansion
Regardless of the current state of the economy, Walmart (NYSE: WMT), the world’s largest retailer, continues to power on. Most would be familiar with the multinational retail giant from its hypermarkets to its discount and grocery stores. Now, the company’s offerings remain a crucial service to consumers across the globe amidst the current pandemic. Likewise, investors appear to be turning towards WMT stock as it trades within ear-shot of its all-time high seen last month. The real question now is, would it be a wise time to invest in the company’s shares?
Well, for one thing, Walmart does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Just this week, the company made two major announcements regarding its workforce improvement plan. Yesterday, Walmart revealed plans to raise the hourly wages for over 565,000 of its store workers. Starting September 25, employees in Walmart’s food, consumables, and general merchandise departments will receive a pay raise. This announcement comes the day after Walmart announced plans to hire 20,000 additional supply chain employees. Through a mix of full-time and part-time positions, Walmart is looking to significantly bolster its fulfillment network as well.
By and large, the company seems keen on preparing its operations for the upcoming holiday season. While it may be a way off, Walmart could be taking proactive measures amidst the current labor market shortage. Even with its title as the largest employer in the world, Walmart continues to push for growth. Should this move play out as planned, the bull thesis for WMT stock could hold strong.
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Dr. Fauci Sees Three Doses Being The New Magic Number For Vaccinations
In more pandemic-related news, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci provided an update on existing vaccine regimens. Namely, Dr. Fauci notes that he “would not be surprised” if Covid vaccines require three shots moving forward. According to the doctor, the additional dose after several months would help the “immune system mature”. For one thing, this would be the case with the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus now.
Now, with this development in mind, investors may be tuning their radars towards the relevant vaccine stocks. To point out, Dr. Fauci currently highlights the likes of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA). The two would be considered the frontrunners in the coronavirus vaccine arena now. As a result, people across the globe are more than familiar with these health care players. Likewise, investors appear to be keen on MRNA stock as well given its year-to-date gains of over 250%. With the prospect of supplying third doses supported by experts, investors could be watching closely.
Cyclical Stocks Outpacing Stock Market As August Job Market Figures Approach
With the current focus on the job market, cyclical stocks appear to be taking the lead in terms of stock market gains. Overall, the S&P 500 eked out a record-high during intraday trading yesterday with energy and industrial shares leading the pack. Meanwhile, tech stocks reportedly took a breather after a momentum-filled August.
For the most part, the current movement among cyclicals could be due to the focus on the latest job market figures out this week. As it stands, the U.S. economy seems to be on the recovery albeit at a more contained pace. All in all, there is no shortage of news in the stock market today to keep you occupied as the week winds down.
