S&P 500 futures were little changed as investors readied for Friday’s closely watched jobs report. Futures connected to the broad index were basically unchanged, while Nasdaq 100 futures were higher by 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2 points. Those moves come as traders geared up for the widely monitored labor data due Friday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones are forecasting nonfarm payroll adds of 200,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4%. They also expect hourly wages to climb 0.3% from May for an annualized gain of 3.9%. The report comes as traders consider the latest economic data pointing to softening in the economy — and what it means for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions going forward. ADP figures released Wednesday showed less private payroll growth than anticipated in June, while weekly jobless claims came in higher than economists forecast. On top of that, a reading of the service sector from the Institute for Supply Management unexpectedly indicated a contraction. “Friday’s payroll report should help clarify the underlying strength of the labor market,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. “Given other evidence of a cooling economic backdrop … the payroll report could be increasingly decisive for the Fed as it seeks a rationale to signal an easing of rates.” The three major indexes are on track to finish the holiday-shortened trading week up. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 have climbed more than 2.5% and 1.4% in the week, respectively. Both closed at all-time highs and notched new intraday records on Wednesday. The Dow has lagged this week, adding around 0.5%. Markets were closed Thursday for Independence Day. U.S. Treasury yields held steady on Friday as markets reopened after the July 4 holiday and investors awaited the latest nonfarm payroll data. At 3:27 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by less than one basis point to 4.3567%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.6934% after rising by less than one basis point. Asia-Pacific markets were largely lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 paring gains after crossing the 41,000 mark and hitting fresh record highs. The Nikkei saw a volatile session and ended the day flat at 40,912.37. The broad-based Topix also faltered from record highs to drop 0.49%, snapping a five-day winning streak and closing at 2,884.18. South Korea’s Kospi was 1.32% higher at 2,862.23, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.79% to end at 847.49. Hong Kong Hang Seng index dropped 1.13% as of its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.43%to close at 3,431.06, falling to its lowest closing level in almost five months. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.12% and closed at 7,822.3. Oil prices for Brent crude hit their highest level since April on Thursday, holding above $87 after data the previous day showed a decline in U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures were up 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.55 a barrel by 1922 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 18 cents at $84.06 in trade thinned by the U.S. Independence Day holiday. In the previous session, Brent gained 1.3% to settle at $87.34 for its highest close since April 30. WTI, meanwhile, had settled at an 11-week high of $83.88. Gold prices edged up on Friday and were set for a second straight weekly gain, while traders awaited U.S. employment data to gauge the trajectory of the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate cuts. Spot gold rose 0.2% at $2,359.73 per ounce, as of 0204 GMT and was up more than 1% for the week. U.S. gold futures was down 0.1% to $2,366.10. The U.S. dollar was on track for a weekly decline, making dollar priced-bullion more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.