U.S. Stocks Before the Bell: S&P 500 Futures Near Records on Broadcom’s AI Momentum as Wall Street Awaits Jobs Data

Wall Street entered Friday with a familiar two-track narrative: micro strength from artificial-intelligence winners, and macro suspense ahead of the jobs report. S&P 500 futures traded near an all-time high, supported by Broadcom’s premarket surge after the chipmaker delivered stronger-than-expected results and mapped out a larger AI revenue footprint for next year. That visibility into custom silicon and accelerated enterprise demand helped power a bid for semiconductor leaders and large-cap growth, reinforcing the market’s soft-landing playbook—at least until the nonfarm payrolls numbers hit at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The cross-currents were evident below the index surface. In consumer discretionary, Lululemon slumped after cutting its full-year guide and highlighting tariff-driven margin pressure, including the loss of the de minimis shipping exemption that once let low-value imports avoid duties. Management estimated the tariff impact would trim gross profit by roughly $240 million in 2025, a reminder that policy frictions can still pierce strong brand stories. Elsewhere, DocuSign popped on an upgraded outlook, and crypto-linked names firmed with Bitcoin. The pattern fits recent weeks: narrow leadership at the top, but outsized moves in single stocks when catalysts hit key search-intent themes like “AI chip orders,” “pre-market movers,” and “jobs report today.”

In rates, the setup leaned benign. A cooler—but not collapsing—labor market remains the modal forecast, with investors looking for subdued wage growth that would smooth the path to a September Fed rate cut. Beyond the headline payrolls number, the revisions table has become essential reading: substantial downward adjustments in prior months have repeatedly altered the three-month hiring trend and repriced the front end of the curve. Another tame read on average hourly earnings would help anchor the disinflation narrative and support duration-sensitive tech.
Trading implications come down to three filters investors can apply in real time. (1) If payrolls are close to consensus and wage gains cool, expect lower yields, firmer breadth, and continued sponsorship of quality growth and AI infrastructure. (2) If the data run hot, brace for a reset in rate-cut odds and a rotation toward defensives—even if AI standouts keep some micro tailwind. (3) Watch whether Broadcom’s pop sticks: heavyweights with tangible AI order books can carry benchmarks, but a fade would leave the tape more vulnerable to macro swings. Heading into the opening print, the tone was cautiously risk-on—with the session’s direction poised to hinge on a few lines in the BLS release.