--Stock futures hug the flatline ahead of December employment report --Most European, Asian markets decline on back of potential end of Fed's asset purchase program --December nonfarm payrolls expected to increase 160,000, unemployment rate seen steady at 7.7% --Data on non-manufacturing sector activity, factory orders on tap By Tomi Kilgore NEW YORK--U.S. stock futures hovered near unchanged levels Friday, with investors reluctant to take a stand ahead of the government's closely-watched monthly jobs report About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched lower by four points, or less than 0.1%, to 13315. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures were unchanged at 1454 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained five points, or 0.2%, to 2731. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell. The U.S. Labor Department's December employment report is due out at 8:30 a.m. EST. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires is for nonfarm payroll growth of 160,000 on the month, the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 7.7% and average hourly wages to rise 0.2%. At 10 a.m., the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers index for December is seen slipping to 54.0 from 54.7 in November, and factory orders for November are expected to rise 0.1% on the month. European markets edged lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.2% and on track to snap a three session win streak, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting indicated it may slow or end its asset-purchase program some time in 2013. Separately, Markit's final December purchasing managers' index reading for the euro zone showed economic output contracted slightly more than a preliminary estimate for the month, but less than in November. Asian markets ended mostly lower, also weighed by the Fed minutes, although the Japanese market rallied as investors there returned from a long holiday. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surged 2.8% to the highest level since March 2011, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 slipped 0.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.3%. The possible end of the Fed's bond-buying stimulus program helped send the dollar higher against both the euro and the yen. And dollar strength weighed on commodities prices, with front month February crude oil futures shedding 1.2% to $91.83 a barrel, while January gold futures slid 2.7% to $1,628.80 an ounce. In corporate news, shares of Accuray tumbled 22% after the radiation oncology company indicated fiscal second-quarter revenue would be well below analyst forecasts, provided a downbeat full-year outlook and announced a restructuring that will lead to a 13% reduction in its workforce. Mosaic declined 1.4% after the fertilizer producer reported fiscal second-quarter operating earnings that declined from year-earlier levels, citing lower phosphate volumes and margins, while revenue for the period was slightly below analyst estimates. Sirius XM Radio rose 2% after Liberty Media said it received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to take effective control of Sirius. Liberty Media's Class A shares were still inactive in the premarket. Harvest Natural Resources gained 5.2% after the company announced an oil discovery in its well off the shorts of Gabon, West Africa. Progress Software reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed expectations and provided a downbeat revenue outlook for the current quarter. The stock was still inactive ahead of the open. Silicon Image lowered its fourth-quarter revenue outlook as a result of rescheduled orders by a large customer. The high-definition connectivity company also said it has taken a fourth-quarter charge to write down some defective inventory. The shares were still untraded in the premarket. -Write to Tomi Kilgore at tomi.kilgore@dowjones.com

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