U.S. stock futures gained slightly on Thursday after the S&P 500 finished the first trading session of the month near the flatline.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 59 points, or 0.2%, to 35,349
Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 8.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,530.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index acquired 40 points, or 0.3%, to 15,649.25.
There were very few big movers in pre-market trading. Shares of Moderna were up 1%. Shares of ChargePoint, the maker of charge systems for electric vehicles, jumped 12% after reporting stellar quarterly earnings. Pet retailer Chewy and retailer Five Below saw shares tumble 9% and 8%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
Chipmaker Broadcom is scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell Thursday.
Key jobs data the next two days could dictate trading. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims are expected to fall to 345,000, down from 353,000 in the week prior, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
Friday brings the big August jobs report, which investors are watching closely to decipher how fast the Federal Reserve will remove easy monetary policy. Economists predict 720,000 jobs were added in the month, down from 943,000 jobs added in July. On Wednesday, ADP data showed U.S. companies created fewer jobs in August than expected.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index picked up 0.2%.
Oil prices advanced 22 cents to $68.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $1.90 to $1,817.90 U.S. a pound.