Wall Street Aims To Open Broadly Higher

Asian shares finished mixed and European shares are trading mostly higher on Friday. Trading is likely to be driven by reaction to the monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for monetary policy.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open mostly higher.

As of 7.35 am ET, the Dow futures were down 18 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 3.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 21.00 points.

The U.S. major indexes finished lower on Thursday. The Dow edged down just 23.34 points or 0.1 percent to 34,577.04 after tumbling by more than 250 points in early trading. The Nasdaq slumped 141.82 points or 1 percent to 13,614.51 and the S&P 500 fell 15.27 points or 0.4 percent to 4,192.85.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Employment Situation for May will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus for nonfarm payrolls is 650,000, while it was up 266,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is projected to be 5.9 percent, while it was up 6.1 percent in April.

The Commerce Department’s Factory Orders for April will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.1 percent, while it was up 1.1 percent in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America Rig Count was 519 and the U.S. Rig Count was 457.

Asian stocks ended Friday’s session on a mixed note. Chinese shares ended a choppy session with modest gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 7.63 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,591.84 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended down 47.93 points, or 0.17 percent, at 28,918.10.

Japanese shares retreated after two straight sessions of modest gains. The Nikkei average fell 116.59 points, or 0.40 percent, to 28,941.52 as investors fretted about the extension of the COVID-19 state of emergency in several major areas. The broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 1,959.19.

Australian markets eked out modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 35.30 points, or 0.49 percent, to 7,295.40 and posted a 1.6 percent weekly gain. The broader All Ordinaries index ended up 32.60 points, or 0.43 percent, at 7,543.30.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 1.87 points or 0.03 percent. The German DAX is adding 6.93 points or 0.04 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 8.11 points or 0.11 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 23.24 points or 0.20 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.12 percent.