U.S. stocks are poised to open mixed on Friday, although sentiment could change markedly following the release of the September jobs report. Tech stocks could underperform in the session, weighed down by a couple of high-profile tech warnings.
On Thursday, the major U.S. averages opened lower but managed to fight back and turn positive in early trading. The modicum of strength seen in early trading may have been inspired by the weekly jobless claims report, which showed a bigger-than-expected increase in individuals filing for unemployment benefits.
Fresh selling set in, dragging the market lower immediately. The indices languished in negative territory for the rest of the session.
All sector indices, with the exception of energy stocks, closed lower in the session, with real estate, utility and IT services stocks coming in for particular punishment.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.68% | 11,073.31 | |
| S&P 500 Index | -1.02% | 3,744.52 | |
| Dow Industrials | -1.15% | 29,926.94 |
If the jobs data comes in below the consensus, "Fed pivot trade could go into overdrive," Scott Minerd, Guggenheim Partners' global chief investment officer, said in a tweet.
Here's a peek into index futures trading:
| Index | Performance (+/-) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq 100 Futures | -0.43% | |
| S&P 500 Futures | -0.12% | |
| Dow Futures | +0.07% | |
| R2K Futures | +0.05% |
In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(NYSE:SPY) slipped 0.08% to $372.91, while Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) declined 0.34 to $278.80, according to Benzinga Pro data.
On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its non-farm payrolls report for September at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists, on average, expect the economy to have added 250,000 jobs during the month after payrolls expanded 315,000 in July.
The jobless rate is expected to stay put at 3.70% and the average hourly earnings, a measure of inflation, is likely to have increased at a 0.3% month-over-month rate, the same pace as in the previous month. The year-over-year growth is expected to tick down from 5.2% to 5.1%.
Federal Open Market Committee member and New York Fed President John Williams is due to speak and participate in a moderated Q&A session at 10 a.m. EDT.
Stocks In Focus:
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) plunged in the premarket after the chipmaker warned of a revenue shortfall in the third quarter, citing slower PC demand. Rival Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) were all moving lower. Samsung said on Friday operating profit will likely drop quarter-over-quarter, the first decline in about three years.
- Cannabis stocks are carrying on the momentum from the previous session when they rallied after President Joe Biden said he would pardon all previous federal offenses for simple marijuana possession. Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) rose over 10% and Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC) gained close to 9%. Tilray is also scheduled to release its quarterly report on Friday.
- DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares spiked about 8% on reports of a potential partnership with Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) ESPN.
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) could move on incremental updates on the proposed M&A transaction.
- Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) rallied after reports said the company was planning to buy back $3 billion of its debt as part of its plans to streamline following questions about its financial health.
Commodities, Global Equity Markets: Crude oil futures are higher for a fifth straight session amid the recent OPEC+ production cut. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate grade crude oil rose close to 1% and approached the $90 psychological resistance.
Asian stocks closed Friday's session mostly lower, dragged by the uninspiring lead from Wall Street overnight and apprehensions ahead of the U.S. employment report. The South Korean, Malaysian, Hong Kong and Japanese markets were among the worst decliners.
The European markets opened lower and saw volatility in early trading, as traders preferred to wait and watch ahead of the U.S. jobs data.
