Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, Nasdaq Futures Advance Amid Cooling Labor Market—UiPath, Snowflake, Lululemon In Focus
U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday after advancing on Wednesday. Futures of major benchmark indices were slightly higher.
Meanwhile, as Wall Street chatter about a December rate cut and a new Federal Reserve Chair took center stage, President Donald Trump was reportedly contemplating appointing U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as his chief economic adviser if incumbent Kevin Hassett is chosen as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The ADP report on Wednesday indicated that U.S. private employers shed 32,000 jobs in November, missing the forecast for a 5,000 gain and reversing October’s 42,000 additions; this reinforced views of a cooling labor market.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.09% and the two-year bond was at 3.51%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 87% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates during its December meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.13% |
| S&P 500 | 0.11% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.13% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.01% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.095% at $684.54, while the QQQ advanced 0.12% to $624.26, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Stocks In Focus
UiPath
- UiPath Inc. (NYSE:PATH) jumped 9.02% in premarket on Thursday after reporting upbeat third-quarter financial results and issuing fourth-quarter sales guidance with its midpoint above estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRVL maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking. Additional performance details are available here.
Salesforce
- Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) rose 2.02% after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raising its FY26 guidance.
- It maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
Snowflake
- Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) tumbled 8.87% despite reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results, as its operating margin guidance appears to be weighing on shares. It said that it expects an adjusted operating margin of 7% in the fourth quarter, down from 11% in the third quarter
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings shows that SNOW maintains a stronger price trend over the medium and long terms but a weak trend in the short term, with a poor growth score. Additional information is available here.
Lululemon Athletica
- Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) was up 0.0055% as analysts expect it to post quarterly earnings at $2.21 per share on revenue of $2.48 billion after the closing bell.
- It maintains a stronger price trend over the short term but a weak trend in the medium and long terms, with a moderate value ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
Nauticus Robotics
- Nauticus Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:KITT) soared 31.41% after reports that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with robotics industry CEOs and supports efforts to accelerate growth in the sector.
- KITT maintained a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
Cues From Last Session
Financial, energy, and industrial stocks recorded the biggest gains on Wednesday, though utilities and information technology issues bucked the trend to close lower.
Broadly, U.S. stocks settled higher, with the Dow Jones index rising more than 400 points as weak private employment data cemented expectations for a rate cut next week.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.17% | 23,454.09 |
| S&P 500 | 0.30% | 6,849.72 |
| Dow Jones | 0.86% | 47,882.90 |
| Russell 2000 | 1.19% | 2,512.14 |
Insights From Analysts
Professor Jeremy Siegel has identified a critical turning point for the U.S. economy as the 10-year Treasury yield falls. Siegel argues this market movement is a leading indicator, “telling us far more about the next phase of Fed policy than most of the stale backward-looking data.”
Consequently, he believes the Federal Reserve has ample room to maneuver, predicting that “a 25-basis-point cut is very much in play” for the upcoming meeting.
Siegel describes the current labor market as a “no-fire, no-hire” environment—neither overheating nor collapsing—which supports continued consumer spending despite gloomy sentiment surveys.
Turning to the technology sector, Siegel highlights the intensifying race between major AI platforms like Gemini and OpenAI.
While he cautions investors to be realistic about the fierce competition and depreciation costs of AI hardware, his long-term outlook remains positive.
He concludes that “over the long run, AI will significantly boost productivity and earnings, and that supports equities.”
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday;
- Initial jobless claims data for the week ending Nov. 29 will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman will speak at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.54% to hover around $59.27 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.21% to hover around $4,194.40 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.02% lower at the 98.8300 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.54% higher at $93,446.51 per coin.
Asian markets closed higher on Thursday, except South Korea's Kospi index. India’s NIFTY 50, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, and Australia's ASX 200 indices rose. European markets were mostly higher in early trade.
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