Stock Futures Choppy in Wake of Jobs Report

Stock futures are a volatile bunch this morning. Investors are trying to make sense of this morning's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which showed a narrower-than-expected 209,000 jobs created in June -- the fewest since December 2020. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) were all modestly lower, then confidently rose above fair value after the report, but have since pared those gains and now sit lower again ahead of the open. Treasury yields are heading lower following the data as well. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• Snowflake stock flashing historically bullish signal. 
• Our Amazon.com stock rec is doing quite well!
• Plus, LEVI slides on outlook; FSLR pops; and BE receives big bull note. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.5 million call contracts and 863,360 million put contacts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.57 and the 21-day moving average dropped to 0.66.
2. Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) stock is down 8.2% premarket, after the retailer's second-quarter revenue miss and weak profit forecast on slow consumer spending. No fewer than five analysts slashed their price targets after the news. Year-to-date, LEVI is down 8.3% headed into today. 
3. First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) stock is up 2.5% before the bell, after the alternative energy giant entered into a five-year revolving credit and guarantee facility for $1 billion. Year-to-date, the FSLR is up 22%. 
4. RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage on alternative energy stock Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE:BE) with an "outperform" rating and $24 price target. The firm sees over 50% upside for the stock on strong demand for fuel cells. Year-to-date, BE is off by 18.6%. 

5. Bank earnings, retail sales data due out next week. 

Asian Markets Extend Losses

Asian markets fell again on Friday, mirroring their U.S. counterparts following a hotter-than-expected ADP jobs report. South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei each shed 1.2%, with the latter taking a hit after Samsung Electronics projected a 96% drop in operating profits for its second quarter. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, and China’s Shanghai Composite settled 0.3% lower.

European markets are mostly higher, as investors keep an eye on stateside nonfarm payrolls data. At last check, France’s CAC 40 and the German DAX are both 0.5% higher, though London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.4% after OSB Group warned its net income could drop by as much as $230 million due to a shift away from high-rate products.