The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
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.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended February 1st.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 219,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 208,000.
Economists had expected initial jobless claims to rise to 213,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed U.S. labor productivity and unit labor costs both increased by less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Banking stocks moved notably higher over the course of the session, however, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.5 percent to its best closing level in almost two years.
Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Steel stocks also turned in a strong performance, while energy stocks were under pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index down by 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
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