U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Following Mixed Jobs Data

Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks may continue to experience choppy trading early on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of percent.

The futures have seen some volatility following the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched report on employment in the month of January.

While the report on showed employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of January, it also showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged slightly lower.

The closely watched report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 143,000 jobs in January after surging by an upwardly revised 307,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected employment to climb by 170,000 jobs compared to the jump of 256,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said job growth in the healthcare, retail and social assistance sectors was partly offset by a decrease in employment in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction industry.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate dipped to 4.0 percent in January from 4.1 percent in December. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.

The mixed data may lead to some uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, keeping some traders on the sidelines.

Shortly after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of February. The consumer sentiment index is expected to inch up to 72.0 in February after falling to 71.1 in January.

The report also includes readings on year-ahead and long-run inflation expectations that could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday, with the major averages swinging back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session going into the end the day, closing higher for the third straight session.

The Nasdaq climbed 99.66 points or 0.5 percent to 19,791.99 and the S&P 500 rose 22.09 points or 0.4 percent to 6,083.57, but the narrower Dow fell 125.65 points or 0.3 percent to 44,747.63.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved modestly lower on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.50 to $71.11 a barrel after falling $0.42 to $70.61 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after sliding $16.30 to $2,876.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $6.80 to $2,883.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 151.81 yen versus the 151.41 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0369 compared to yesterday’s $1.0383.