U.S. Stocks May See Initial Strength Following Jobs Data

Following the pullback seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.

The futures edged higher following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. surged by more than expected in the month of November.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 227,000 jobs in November after rising by an upwardly revised 36,000 jobs in October.

Economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the uptick of 12,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October. The modest increase matched economist estimates.

The data points to continued strength in the labor market but may offset recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates, keeping buying interest relatively subdued.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points later this month, the central bank is seen as increasingly likely to leave rates unchanged in January.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of December. The consumer sentiment index is expected to rise to 73.0 in December from 71.8 in November.

After climbing to new record highs during Wednesday’s session, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory. The Dow slid 248.33 points or 0.6 percent to 44,765.71, while the Nasdaq dipped 34.86 points or 0.2 percent to 19,700.26 and the S&P 500 edged down 11.38 points or 0.2 percent to 6,075.11.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Friday. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.8 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is nearly unchanged.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.61 to $67.69 a barrel after slipping $0.24 to $68.30 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $27.80 to $2,648.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $12.10 to $2,660.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.09 yen versus the 150.10 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0617 compared to yesterday’s $1.0586.