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Stock futures were higher Friday as traders sought to look past U.S. trade policy worries that have rattled the market this week. They also awaited a big payrolls report.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials moved downward 27 points, or 0.1%, to 42,595.
Futures for the S&P 500 index were unchanged at 5,746.25
Futures for the tech-heavy NASDAQ poked ahead 4.75 points, or 0.1%, to 20,094.
This latest market rout put the three major averages on course for their worst week since September 2024. The S&P 500 is off 3.6% week to date, while the 30-stock Dow is down 2.9%. The NASDAQ is the underperformer of the period, down 4.1% so far this week.
Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride as Trump’s tariff policies have worried investors over future U.S. growth. While Trump said on Thursday that a swath of goods from Canada and Mexico that are covered by the North American trade agreement known as USMCA would be exempt from the announced duties until April 2, that wasn’t enough to spur a recovery rally similar to the one seen on Wednesday.
Today is the day for the U.S. economy to release employment numbers. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast jobs growth of 170,000 jobs for and expect the unemployment rate held steady at 4%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 sank 2.2%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dipped 0.6%.
Oil prices grabbed 85 cents to $67.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid 10 cents to $2,926.50 U.S. an ounce.
