Wall Street poised to extend selloff
After a sharp selloff Thursday, Wall Street looks set for more losses as stock futures fell early Friday.
As of 5:10 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures shed 91 points, or 0.28% to 32,819. S&P 500 futures dropped 15.5 points, or 0.37% to 4,127.75 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 62.50 points, or 0.49% to 12.795.50.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks suffered their worst selloff since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020, as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve’s first 50-basis-point rate hike since 2000.
The Dow plummeted 1,063.09 points, or 3.12% to close the session at 32,997.97. The S&P 500 shed 153.30 points, or 3.56% to end at 4,146.87 while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 647.16 points, or 4.99% to finish at 12,317.69.
April jobs data in focus
Meanwhile, traders are eagerly awaiting the release of U.S. employment data for April ahead of the opening bell.
Non-farm payrolls likely rose by 400,000 last month, down from 431,000 in March according to economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal
Prospects of a strong jobs figures were hurt by the ADP National employment data on Wednesday, which showed private payrolls rose by 247,000 jobs last month, below the 383,000 additions economists expected.
The rate of unemployment is projected to come in at 3.5%, compared to 3.6% in March.
The Labor Department will publish release the jobs data at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Bausch + Lomb IPO price set at $18 per share amid market volatility
Eye care company Bausch + Lomb raised $630 million in an initial public offering on Thursday evening, less than expected, as the current stock market volatility and the Fed’s decision to hike interest rates caused some investors to take a cautious approach.
The Canadian-based company priced around 35 million shares at $18 each. Bausch + Lomb had initially hoped to price shares at a range of $21 to $24, but later told investors it was selling shares at $18.
Volatility in the equity markets in the last few sessions, triggered by growing concerns that the economy may be headed to a recession may have also caused pushback from some investors.
Bausch + Lomb is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the symbol BLCO. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group led the IPO.
