By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur
(Reuters) -Futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recovered on Wednesday after Alphabet gained on a favorable antitrust ruling and investors awaited labor market data that could influence the central bank’s upcoming interest-rate decision.
Alphabet jumped 6.2% in premarket trading after a Washington judge ruled late on Tuesday Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser, but will have to share data with rivals.
Apple also gained 3.9% as the ruling allowed Google to continue lucrative payments to the iPhone maker.
“This outcome removes a significant legal overhang and signals that the court is willing to pursue pragmatic remedies rather than scorched-earth tactics,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“That’s a message the rest of Big Tech, many of whom face their own antitrust battles, will be watching closely.”
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report for July, due at 10 a.m. ET, marks the first in a series of jobs indicators expected this week that will culminate in Friday’s highly anticipated nonfarm payrolls data.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole earlier this month have put the focus squarely on labor market weakness ahead of the central bank’s rate decision on September 17.
Following July’s weak payrolls data and massive revisions to previous reports collectively suggesting a cooling labor market, investors are now pricing in a 91.2% chance of a September rate cut, according to data compiled by LSEG.
At 07:14 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 14 points, or 0.03%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 172.75 points, or 0.74%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 32.75 points, or 0.51%.
Wall Street closed sharply lower in the first trading session of September, as yields on longer-dated Treasury notes had spiked, pressuring equities.
Yields on the 30-year note hit a more than one-month high on Tuesday after a court ruling last week deemed most of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs illegal, reviving some fiscal concerns. It touched 5% earlier on Wednesday and was last at 4.972%.
September has been historically dour for U.S. equities, with the index losing 1.5% in the month on average since the turn of the century, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Department store operator Macy’s soared 9.8% after raising its annual forecasts, but discount retailer Dollar Tree dropped 9.2% despite a forecast hike.
As earnings season winds down, investors are watching for commentary on the holiday season shopping outlook to gauge the health of the U.S. consumer. A survey by PwC showed U.S. holiday spending this year was set for its steepest drop since the pandemic.
Fed policymakers Alberto Musalem and Neel Kashkari are scheduled to deliver speeches on the day, potentially offering more clues on monetary policy direction.
In other moves, Zscaler inched 1.1% higher after the cloud security firm forecast annual revenue above estimates.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Devika Syamnath)
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