The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the pullback seen in the previous session.
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.
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.
The more notable pullback by the Dow came amid a steep drop by shares of UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), with the health insurance giant tumbling by 5.2 percent following Wednesday’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report.
With the monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 30th.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 215,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.
While most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.9 percent.
Notable weakness was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Healthcare and housing stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while airline stocks surged, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.6 percent.
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