Nasdaq futures fall for a third day as tech selling continues, investors weigh economic data

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Nasdaq-100 futures declined Thursday as investors dumped risk assets, and concerns mounted over the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Futures tied to the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline.

Investors ditched popular technology and chip stocks as economic worries resurfaced. Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices lost more than 1%, while Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Alphabet dipped less than 1% each.

Fresh labor market data Thursday sent mixed signals about the health of the U.S. economy as questions linger over whether the Federal Reserve is behind the curve on rate cuts. Private payrolls data showed the weakest growth since 2021, heightening fears of a slowing labor market. However, weekly claims for unemployment benefits declined from the previous week.

The market has shown hyper sensitivity to potential growth scares in recent weeks, including Tuesday's sell-off on the heels of weak manufacturing data. That puts heightened scrutiny on labor market data.

"While incoming data is mixed, it is not collapsing, and the global cutting cycle should help the economy achieve a soft landing, extending the cycle into 2025," said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays. "We see this as a broadly positive environment for equities, but a lot is arguably priced in, and there are a number of wildcards to get through."

Tesla rose about 3% before the bell after the electric vehicle maker said it plans to launch its full self-driving assistance software in Europe and China early next year. Frontier Communications dropped 10% after Verizon said it would buy the company in a $20 billion deal. Verizon added 1%.

Thursday's premarket moves come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each closed lower for the second straight session. The Dow squeezed out a gain of 38 points. All three averages are down for the week ahead of Friday's keynote August nonfarm payrolls report.

See the stocks moving in premarket trading

These are some of the stocks making big moves before the bell on Thursday:

Verizon, Frontier Communications — Verizon announced it will purchase Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion, confirming earlier reports of the transaction. Frontier shares tumbled 9.7%, while Verizon's stock advanced 1.2%.
Tesla — The electric vehicle titan rose nearly 3% after announcing it will roll out its "Full Self Driving" driver assistance program in Europe and China in the first quarter of 2025.
JetBlue — The airline climbed 4.6% after raising its guidance for third-quarter revenue. JetBlue said to expect somewhere between a loss of 2.5% and a gain of 1% relative to the same period a year ago. Before this update, the company had said to pencil in a decrease of between 5.5% and 1.5%.

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring

Jobless claims edge lower to 227,000, less than forecast

Initial filings for unemployment benefits edged lower last week, easing some fears about the potential for an uptick in layoffs, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled 227,000 for the week ending Aug. 31, a drop of 5,000 from the upwardly revised previous period and slightly below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 229,000.

Continuing claims also fell, off 22,000 to 1.838 million and below the FactSet consensus call for 1.868 million.

—Jeff Cox

Private payrolls grow by 99,000 in August, ADP says

Private payrolls growth came in well below estimates for August, another sign of weakness in the U.S. jobs market.

Companies hired 99,000 workers last month, according to ADP. That's below a downwardly revised July print of 111,000. It also missed a Dow Jones estimate of 140,000.

"The job market's downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth," ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement.

— Fred Imbert

Tesla gains 3%, announces plans to release FSD software in Europe, China next year

Tesla rallied nearly 3% after the electric vehicle maker said it plans to roll out its "Full Self Driving" driver assistance program in Europe and China during the first quarter of 2025 if approved by regulators.

The company announced news of the paid add-on driver assistance tool via a social media post on X. The feature hasn't been cleared by regulators in the regions, but CEO Elon Musk said in July that he expects approval by the end of the year.

Shares have slumped about 12% year to date.

— Samantha Subin, Ryan Browne

Jobless claims are expected to be down slightly week over week

Jobless claims data for the final week of August is due out before the opening bell on Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting 229,000 initial jobless claims, which would be down from 231,000 the prior week.

— Jesse Pound

C3.ai, Topgolf Callaway among biggest after-hours movers

Here are some of the biggest individual stock movers in extended trading on Wednesday:

C3.ai — Shares of the technology company dropped nearly 16% after subscription revenue came in below expectations for the fiscal first quarter. C3.ai reported $73.5 million in subscription revenue for the period, while Wall Street analysts were looking for $79.2 million, according to FactSet.
Topgolf Callaway — The golf equipment and entertainment stock rose about 3% after the company announced that it will split into two. Callaway will be a golf equipment and active lifestyle company, while Topgolf will focus on golf entertainment.
AeroVironment — Shares of the defense contractor slid more than 3% after the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance despite beating estimates on the top and bottom lines for its fiscal first quarter.

— Jesse Pound