Without a doubt, the most interesting event in the financial markets today will be the May non-farm payrolls in the United States. Last month’s NFPs were many times lower than the forecast, which strengthened the case for prolonged dovishness by the Federal Reserve, contrary to many investors’ expectations. Thus, May’s report holds the potential to rattle the markets once more. The forecast for last month’s NFPs is set at 650,000.
Another major release from the US today will be the unemployment rate for May, which is expected to have dropped to 5.9%. However, yesterday’s continuing jobless claims report suggested that more people remain without a job than expected, so it will be interesting to see how the overall unemployment rate fared in May.
Canada will also deliver somewhat similar data today. The USA's northern neighbor will publish its own unemployment rate report, together with May’s employment change data.
Both the US and Canada will also deliver average wage reports, but those will likely pale in comparison to the other major reports expected today.
The dollar index has been climbing since yesterday due to the overall positive employment data. The USD has pushed against the euro, the Japanese yen, and even the otherwise very strong British pound. If the NFP report does not disappoint, the dollar can go higher still.
Today US stock indices are trading cautiously in anticipation of the NFP report. If the numbers are good, they could fuel another rally in the market for stocks, and one that could last a few weeks, or for as long as risk appetite holds.
Traders should still keep an eye on AMC Entertainment, the meme stock currently favored by Redditors. This year alone AMC has gained a staggering 3,000% of its value but at the moment we are seeing small losses. This stock is highly volatile, so tread carefully.
The broad market optimism is still pushing crude oil higher. Today the Brent crude reached $71.65, while the WTI climbed to $69.15 per barrel.
