Stock futures rose on Friday as investors looked to the October jobs report for clues to the pace of future interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 177 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures are up 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100-related futures are up 0.7%.
The October Nonfarm Payrolls Report Friday will provide investors with more clues about the state of the economy, and how much work the central bank is waiting for to bring down inflation. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that 205,000 jobs were added last month and expect the unemployment rate to stabilize at 3.5%.
“They’re trying to squash demand, making tomorrow’s job count critical, because if you get a good job count in terms of things that haven’t deteriorated on the job front, that makes a really tough job for you. [the central bank] That’s a lot more than that, Jay Adami of the Special Advisers Group said Thursday on CNBC’s “Fast Money.”
Friday’s jobs report will come after another dovish session on Wall Street.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones lost about 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was down 1%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fell 1.7%. Investors weighed the recent 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, as well as a comment from Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting that the pivot could be far from what traders had been expecting.
All major averages are on their way to close the week with losses. As of Thursday’s close, the Dow is down 2.62%, and is set to end four weeks of gains. The S&P and Nasdaq are down 4.64% and 6.84%, respectively, on track to break their two-week winning streak. The tech specialist Nasdaq is also on track for its worst weekly performance since January 2022.
Corporate earnings season continues, with mobile payment company roadblock 13% increase after exceeding expectations. Carvana Participation decreased as it posted a larger than expected loss. Investors are also anticipating AMC Networks’ third-quarter report before the bell on Friday.
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”