Click the chart for premarket data
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday as investors pin their focus on the government's monthly jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report that employers added 120,000 jobs in August, according to economists surveyed by CNNMoney. Investors will be paying especially close attention to the figure, since it will likely influence the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to announce more quantitative easing at the conclusion of its next meeting on Sept. 12-13.
After several better-than-expected reports on the labor market Thursday, investors are hopeful that Friday's jobs report will continue to show an improvement.
U.S. stocks surged Thursday, with all three major indexes closing at the highest levels in years, following strong jobs data and the announcement of the European Central Bank's bond-buying program, aimed at aiding countries with unsustainable borrowing costs.
World Markets: European stocks rose in morning trading, a day after the ECB's bond plan announcement. Britain's FTSE 100 ticked up 0.2%, the DAX in Germany added 0.8% and France's CAC 40 gained 1.4%.
Related: ECB outlines bond-buying program
Asian markets surged on hopes that the Chinese government will take measures to stimulate the country's stagnating economy. The Shanghai Composite soared 3.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 3.1%, and Japan's Nikkei rose 2.2%.
Economy: Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect the private sector to have added 130,000 jobs, with the government cutting 10,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 8.3%.
Companies: Grocery chain Kroger (KR, Fortune 500) and apparel producer lululemon athletica (LULU) are scheduled to release their quarterly results Friday morning.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro and the British pound, but gained versus the Japanese yen.
Oil for October delivery rose 34 cents to $95.87 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $6.70 to $1,701.20 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.67% from 1.59% late Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment