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Happy Friday. Stock futures were rising, with oil prices easing, as Wall Street awaited a key jobs report.
September’s nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. The Dow Jones consensus calls for job growth of 84,000 and for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.1%. August’s job growth totaled 162,000.
Nike (NKE) tumbled 10.40% in premarket trading Friday, falling for a second straight day after the company reported falling revenue and plans to lay off staff in 2027.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has sent 9,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East after warning that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon.
Markets finished slightly higher Thursday, kicking off the new month with modest gains.
“Wall Street closed flat following a see-sawing session driven by bond market volatility and another jump in oil prices,” Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst with Capital.com, said.
“Long-term yields clocked up fresh multidecade highs in the U.S., with the move compounded by ISM Manufacturing data that revealed building cost pressures in the U.S. economy.”
Rodda added that the levels were short-lived, “with a retracement in yields taking the foot off the throat of the market.”
“But upside risks remain, especially after the jump in oil prices,” he said. “Though flow out of the Middle East, at least for crude, is normalizing, upward pressure on prices continues as geopolitical risk persists.”
“That risk premium increased last night off the back of reports the U.S. could be preparing to deploy another aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Gulf.”
After solid private payrolls and jobless claims numbers this week, Rodda said the ultimate question is whether the labor market remains little impediment to future rate rises.
“The odds of a Fed hike this month have receded in recent days, largely due to dovish Fed speak, mild inflation data and the burgeoning view that the central bank won’t hike before highly charged midterm elections,” he said. “But a hike is considered a matter of when and not if, with a rate rise baked in for before the end of the year.”
With markets mostly driven by geopolitical risk and monetary policy uncertainty, Rodda said the tone this Friday will be dictated by any fresh headlines about the war or the nonfarm payrolls data.
