LONDON: U.S. stock futures showed little change early Friday, as investors held off from big bets ahead of a much-anticipated jobs report.
S&P 500 futures ESZ5, -0.06% edged lower by 1 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,093, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMZ5, -0.09% fell by 20 points, or 0.1%, to 17,782. Nasdaq 100 futures NQZ5, +0.02% inched up by 1 point, or less than 0.1%, to 4,696.25.
The Labor Department is expected to report that the U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in October, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 5.1%, with average hourly earnings up 0.2%.
The nonfarm-payrolls report is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
A strong jobs report is likely to boost bets that the Federal Reserve will raise its interest rate next month. But William Adams, head of research at FastMarkets, said a weak report could spark a more dramatic reaction by financial markets.
“With the dollar already strong in anticipation of a December rate rise, the markets are likely to react the most, with metals rallying, if today’s employment report were to disappoint, as indeed it did last month,” he said in a note.
The main stock benchmarks have dropped over the past two sessions, but they are still poised for weekly gains. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.11% is up 1% for the week as of Thursday’s close, while the Dow DJIA, -0.02% is 1.1% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq COMP, -0.29% has gained 1.5%.
Individual movers: Shares in Nvida Corp. NVDA, -1.14% are poised to jump after the maker of graphics chips late Thursday delivered quarterly results well above Wall Street’s estimates.
TripAdvisor Inc. TRIP, +0.59% is on track for a big down day after the online portal posted weaker-than-expected quarterly profit late Thursday.
Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.22% also could come under pressure after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue late Thursday, and Kraft Heinz Co. KHC, -0.53% may drop in Friday’s session as its quarterly profit missed forecasts, though the food company increased its dividend.
Investors late Thursday didn’t like the way Men’s Wearhouse Inc.’s earnings guidance looked.
