After ending Wednesday’s trading little changed, stocks are likely to come under pressure in early trading on Friday as trading resumes following the national day of mourning on Thursday.
The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 1.1 percent.
The futures showed a significant move to the downside following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report.
The report showed much stronger than expected job growth in the month of December, adding to recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 256,000 jobs in December after jumping by a downwardly revised 212,000 jobs in November.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 227,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in December from 4.2 percent in November. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.
While the report points to continued strength in the labor market, the data is also likely to give the Federal Reserve confidence in its plan to gradually lower interest rates over the coming year.
Following the sharp pullback seen over the course of Tuesday’s session, stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 10.80 points or 0.1 percent to 19,478.87, the Dow rose 106.84 points or 0.3 percent to 42,635.20 and the S&P 500 crept up 9.22 points or 0.2 percent to 5,918.25.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are soaring $2.87 to $76.70 a barrel after climbing $0.60 to $73.92 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after jumping $18.40 to $2,690.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $0.50 to $2,690.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.73 yen versus the 158.14 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0242 compared to yesterday’s $1.0300.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Come Under Pressure After Strong Jobs Report
2025-01-10 13:49:13
