US stock futures unchanged, waiting on US data

US stock index futures were almost unchanged today as important data on US unemployment rate is yet to be released. The important indicator could be a turning point in the discussion of whether US government should taper on bond buying stimulus program.

S&P 500 index futures fell less than 0.08%, Nasdaq Composite is down 0.15% and Down Jones Industrial futures trade at a daily loss of 0.13% at 7:22 EDT.

The jobs data “will dominate headlines and influence price action until the Fed’s next policy meeting this month,” said Ishaq Siddiqi cited by Bloomberg. The market strategist at ETX Capital in London added the jobs data “will surely escalate expectations that the Federal Reserve will unwind asset purchases in coming months.”

The agricultural biotechnological company Monsanto rose 2% passing the 100 dollar line of its share price in Germany after the company  announced intentions to buyback $2 billion worth of shares and declared its quarterly dividend. GAP raised by 3.1% in late trading yesterday after the largest US clothing retailer reported a 7% increase in sales for last month. Yum! Brand rose 1% in early New York trading after UBS AG recommended to investors to buy the shares.

Walmart is optimistic about sale increases in following months as the company sees Consumer Confidence Index increasing which would be breath of fresh air for the retail corporation. Walmart hopes to recover from recent slow growth.

Apple could be followed by many investors as the company could gain share price from recent downgrades of its main rival in industry – Samsung. The companys sales have been degraded due to slowing interest of one of its flagship products, the Galaxy S4.