NJ: US stock futures flat ahead of nonfarm payrolls data
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday ahead of the comprehensive monthly jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates next month.
* The report by the Labor Department, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, is expected to show that nonfarm payrolls increased 180,000 in October, above the 139,000 jobs per month average for August and September.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinted earlier this week that the central bank may move in December if data showed the economy was strong enough to sustain higher rates.
* Economists have said job gains above 150,000 in October and November would be sufficient for the Fed to lift rates from the near-zero levels they have been kept at for nearly a decade.
* Traders see a 58 percent chance of a rate liftoff in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch program.
* Global stock markets were subdued, while the dollar .DXY rose to a three-month high on Friday.
* U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by mixed earnings and a decline in energy stocks.
** Nvidia’s shares (NVDA.O) rose 10 percent to $30.50 premarket after the chipmaker’s third-quarter results beat expectations.
* TripAdvisor (TRIP.O) fell 9.2 percent to $75.50 after quarterly results missed estimates.
* Youku Tudou (YOKU.N) rose 9.2 percent to $26.60 after Alibaba (BABA.N) said it would buy the company for $27.60 per ADS, $1 higher than its previous offer. Alibaba was up 0.3 percent.
* Weight Watchers (WTW.N) rose 15.8 percent to $19.60 after it raised its 2015 adjusted profit forecast,
* ZS Pharma (ZSPH.O) soared 40.2 percent to $88.75 after AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said it would buy the biotech company for $2.7 billion.
* Fed Board Governor Lael Brainard and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans are among Fed policymakers scheduled to speak on Friday. Berkshire (BRKa.N) is scheduled to report results after the close.
Futures snapshot at 7:10 a.m. ET:
* S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were up 0.75 points, or 0.04 percent, with 78,595 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were up 6 points, or 0.13 percent, on volume of 12,997 contracts.
* Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 5 points, or 0.03 percent, with 9,133 contracts changing hands.
