Wall St set to open higher after June jobs report eases rate hike bets

By Niket Nishant and Avinash PWall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on Thursday after a softer-than-expected employment report for June tempered expectations for interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added 57,000…

By Niket Nishant and Avinash P

Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on Thursday after a softer-than-expected employment report for June tempered expectations for interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs last month, compared with economists' estimates for a rise of 110,000. The unemployment rate was 4.2%, in line with expectations of 4.3%.

Odds of at least one rate hike this year stood at 75.6%, according to data compiled by LSEG, compared with around 84% before the data.

"We still see a path for the Fed to stay on hold for the rest of the year," said Kay Haigh, head and CIO of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

"However, any further upside surprises to inflation could convince the committee to hike sooner rather than later."

Some had warned that the data could be distorted because of hiring linked to the FIFA World Cup.

"As a result, markets are likely to place greater weight on the June CPI (consumer price index) report due on July 14, as inflation data will offer a cleaner read on the economy," said Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private Bank, before the report's release.

At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis (YMcv1) were up 212 points, or 0.40%, S&P 500 E-minis (EScv1) were up 27.75 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis CME_MINI:NQ1! rose 178.5 points, or 0.58%.

Several chip stocks reversed course in premarket trading, with SanDisk NASDAQ:SNDK and Arm Holdings NASDAQ:ARM gaining 2.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

Bending Spoons (BSP.O) slipped 6.2% a day after the Vimeo owner gained 40% in its debut on the Nasdaq.

Markets had a choppy session on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation risks had eased but committed to sticking firmly to the U.S. central bank's 2% inflation target.

Additionally, the U.S. and Iran concluded a round of indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign they had made headway toward lasting peace, adding another layer of uncertainty.