U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher early Friday ahead of the September jobs report.
What’s happening
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
+0.12%
rose 43 points, or 0.1%, to 33,345. -
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+0.10%
gained 4 points, or 0.1%, to 4,294. -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
+0.18%
increased 14 points, or 0.1%, to 14,877.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
fell 10 points, or 0.03%, to 33120, the S&P 500
SPX
declined 6 points, or 0.13%, to 4258, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP
dropped 16 points, or 0.12%, to 13220.
What’s driving markets
The U.S. jobs report for September is due for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, with expectations for a 170,000 rise in payrolls and an unemployment rate of 3.7%. It’s the last jobs report before the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision due on November 1.
“And since pricing for another rate hike this year has kept oscillating above and below 50% (currently 38% this morning), today’s reading will be important in determining if another hike remains on the table,” said Henry Allen, a strategist at Deutsche Bank.
The stock market has been yanked around this week by labor market data, falling sharply on a report showing a surprise rise in job openings, then rising on a report of slowing private sector payrolls from ADP, and then easing once more after another low reading on weekly jobless benefit claims.
Besides the jobs report, a report in the Wall Street Journal that Exxon Mobil
XOM,
is near a $60 billion deal buy shale oil driller Pioneer Natural Resources
PXD,
may color energy stocks on Friday.
Single stock movers
-
Pioneer Natural Resources
PXD,
-0.17%
shares soared by 10% following a report in the Wall Street Journal that Exxon Mobil is closing in on a deal to buy the Texan shale driller for about $60 billion. Exxon Mobil
XOM,
-2.25%
shares fell almost 2%. -
Coca-Cola Co.
KO,
-4.83%
and PepsiCo Inc.
PEP,
-5.22%
slumped after Walmart Inc.’s U.S. chief executive said the new class of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy were causing customers to buy fewer groceries and cut back on those that are high in calories. - Levi Strauss & Co. LEVI dropped 2% after the retailer late Thursday cut its outlook for the full year and its executives noted a “continued softness in the wholesale channel, primarily in the U.S.”
-
Tesla
TSLA,
-0.43%
fell 1% after the automobile maker cut the price of its Model 3 cars from $40,240 to $38,990 and dropped the cost of its model Y electric vehicles from $50,990 to $45,990 in the U.S. -
Philips
PHG,
+0.56%
shares dropped 8% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called for more testing of its recalled sleep and respiratory devices, following concerns about foam used in millions of recalled products.
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