U.S. stock futures rose slightly early Friday as traders awaited Friday’s jobs report. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 42 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also advanced 0.1% each. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting the U.S. economy to have added 170,000 jobs last month, down from 187,000 the prior month. The unemployment rate is expected to have fallen to 3.7%, lower than the 3.8% level in the previous reading. Many market participants are hoping a somewhat softer jobs report will break the fever in bond yields, which have risen sharply and weighed on equities. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a 16-year high this week, rising as much as 4.884%. It last hovered above 4.7%. “There’s volatility in the bond market,” Joe Terranova, senior managing director at Virtus Investment Partners, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “So one way or the other, tomorrow’s jobs report is going to have a significant impact on which way the market is going to move. Because right now, we are moving in such a volatile nature in fixed income, and that’s an uncomfortable place for investors to be in.” The Dow turned negative on the year this week, and is headed for its third straight week of losses. As of Thursday’s close, the 30-stock index is down by 1.16%. The S&P 500 is on pace for its fifth consecutive losing week, down by 0.7%. The Nasdaq is about flat. U.S. Treasury yields rose Friday as investors looked ahead to the release of the September jobs report, which could inform upcoming Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions. At 7:50 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by nearly 3 basis points at 4.744%. It had hit a fresh 16-year high earlier in the week, rising as high as 4.884%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury was last trading at 5.043% after rising by nearly 2 basis points. Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed as investors look ahead to U.S. jobs data that could set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s next move for interest rates. The index was last trading 2.1% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded 1.37% higher, after jumping over 2% earlier. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.41% higher to close at 6,954.2. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.21% to end at 2,408.73 and the Kosdaq rose 1.92% to close at 816.39. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.26% to end at 30,994.67. China’s markets remain closed for the weeklong holiday. Oil prices were stable on Friday but were on course for a week-on-week loss, as demand fears driven by macroeconomic headwinds were compounded by another partial lifting of Russia’s fuel export ban on Friday. On Friday, Brent futures were down just 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $84.02, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $82.25. Russia announced that it had lifted its ban on diesel exports for supplies delivered to ports by pipeline, under the proviso that companies sell at least 50% of their diesel production to the domestic market. Gold prices were stuck in a tight range on Friday, hovering near seven-month lows, as investors held back from making big bets ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data that could influence the Federal Reserve interest rate path. Spot gold was near flat at $1,820.60, but was on track for its second straight week of decline, down 1.5% so far this week, as elevated Treasury yields and a firm dollar dented bullion’s appeal. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% to $1,834.80.
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