U.S. stock futures paused on Friday ahead of a pivotal jobs report that will shed light on whether the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hike campaign is slowing down the economy.
What’s happening
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
+0.06%
rose 17 points, or 0.1%, to 36535. -
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+0.04%
gained 1 points, or 0%, to 4590. -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
-0.05%
decreased 12 points, or 0.1%, to 16233.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
rose 63 points, or 0.17%, to 36117, the S&P 500
SPX
increased 36 points, or 0.8%, to 4586, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP
gained 193 points, or 1.37%, to 14340.
The S&P 500 has been in the tightest trading range in the last two years over the last two weeks, according to Goldman Sachs.
What’s driving markets
The Labor Department is expected to report that the U.S. added 190,000 jobs in November — buoyed by the return of striking auto workers — with an unchanged unemployment rate of 3.9% and average hourly earnings growth of 0.3%, according to the Wall Street Journal poll of economists.
“For the most part, underlying job growth has remained very resilient this year, slowing close to a still-solid pre-pandemic average around 150,000 to 250,000 per month,” said economists at Citi.
The S&P 500 is close to a 20-month high. “The reason for the newfound optimism is the widespread expectation that the Fed has finished its job,” said Effy Elfenbein, the portfolio manager of the AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF and blogger of Crossing Wall Street.
Next week may be equally important, with key inflation data, Treasury auctions and a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision.
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