Wall Street Aims To Open Positive

Friday’s trading might be influenced by the monthly Employment report for February. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 6.3 percent.

Asian shares finished lower, while European shares are trading broadly lower.
Early cues from the U.S. Futures Index point to a positive opening for Wall Street.

As of 7.35 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 72.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 10.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 29.75 points.

The U.S. major averages all posted steep losses on Thursday, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq plummeted 274.28 points or 2.1 percent to 12,723.47, while the Dow tumbled 345.95 points or 1.1 percent to 30,924.14 and the S&P 500 dove 51.25 points or 1.3 percent to 3,768.47.

On the Economic front, the Employment Situation Report for February will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The nonfarm payroll consensus is for 175,000, while it was up 49,000 in the prior month. Unemployment rate is expected to be 6.3 percent, while it was up 6.3 percent in the previous month.

International Trade in Goods and Services for January will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a negative $67.5 billion, while it was down $66.6 billion in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 565 and the U.S. Rig Count for the week was 402.

The Fed’s Consumer Credit report for January will be issued at 3.00 pm ET. The consensus is for $13.0 billion, while it was up $9.7 billion in the previous month.

Asian stocks fell on Friday. Chinese Shanghai Composite index finished marginally lower at 3,501.99. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 138.50 points, or 0.47 percent, to 29,098.29.

Japanese shares ended lower for the second day running. The Nikkei average dipped 65.79 points, or 0.23 percent, to 28,864.32. The broader Topix index closed 0.61 percent higher at 1,896.18, recovering from an early slide.

Australian markets fell for a second straight session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slid 49.90 points, or 0.74 percent, to 6,710.80, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 57.60 points, or 0.82 percent, at 6,943.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 14.63 points or 0.25 percent. The German DAX is down 64.70 points or 0.45 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 30.78 points or 0.46 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is losing 68.28 points or 0.64 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.23 percent.