US stocks eye weekly gain; big move seen if jobs report falls short
New York (Nov 6) US 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, -0.04% edged lower by 0.5 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,093.50, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMZ5, -0.09% fell by 12 points, or 0.1%, to 17,790. Nasdaq 100 futures NQZ5, +0.10% inched up by 5.50 points, or 0.1%, to 4,700.75.
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.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists also have said a soft report is likely to have a bigger impact than a strong release, given that a December hike is increasingly priced in.
Read more: What to watch in the October jobs report
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%.
Moves on earnings: Shares in Nvida Corp. NVDA, -1.14% jumped 9% in premarket action after the maker of graphics chips late Thursday delivered quarterly results well above Wall Street’s estimates.
Cigna Corp. CI, +1.89% gained 1.6% premarket as the health insurer posted better-than-anticipated earnings before the opening bell, though revenue missed forecasts. Rival Humana Inc. HUM, +1.23% is choppy in premarket trading after reporting weaker-than-anticipated revenue ahead of the open, along with adjusted quarterly earnings beat views.
TripAdvisor Inc. TRIP, -9.37% is poised for a big down day, falling 9% premarket, after the online travel review portal posted weaker-than-expected quarterly profit late Thursday.
Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.22% 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.
After the market’s close on Friday, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.A, -0.69% is due to report quarterly results.
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Deal activity: Shares in Youku Tudou Inc. YOKU, -0.33% often called China’s YouTube, jumped 9% in premarket action as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. BABA, +0.43% agreed with Youku on a merger.
Shares in ZS Pharma ZSPH, +40.66% surged 41% premarket after AstraZeneca PLC AZN, -0.97% AZN, +1.21% said it agreed to pay $2.7 billion for the Californian biotech company.
DuPont Co. DD, +0.84% is in separate talks with Syngenta AG SYNN, +3.85% and with Dow Chemical Co. DOW, +0.45% about a potential combination of agricultural units.
Other markets: European stocks SXXP, -0.60% are trading mostly lower, while Asian equities ADOW, -0.57% closed largely higher, with Chinese benchmarks achieving weekly gains of more than 6%. Oil futures CLZ5, +0.49% and gold futures GCZ5, +0.35% are higher, and a key dollar index DXY, +0.17% is up moderately.
Source: MarketWatch
