Nasdaq Futures Surge as Jobs Report Looms

The US stock market is gearing up for a crucial jobs report that could decide the Federal Reserve's next move in September. The Nasdaq futures surged 120 points, or 0.5%, while Dow futures were little changed and S&P 500 contracts added about 0.2%. The major indexes are heading for their strongest weekly performance since April, led by AI-linked earnings.

Atlassian, Microchip Technology, and Cloudflare led the pre-market gains, with Atlassian surging 30% after beating revenue expectations. Microchip Technology climbed roughly 9% after forecasting quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates. Cloudflare gained more than 15% after raising its full-year revenue forecast.

The jobs report, due at 8:30 am ET, is expected to show payrolls rising by about 80,000 after a 57,000 increase in June. A strong employment report could lift short-term Treasury yields and revive pressure on expensive growth stocks; a weak one could do the opposite.