MW: U.S. stock futures trim losses after March job gain beats forecasts
U.S. stock futures on Friday trimmed early losses but remained in negative territory after the government said 215,000 new jobs were created in March, showing an economy that’s still expanding at a moderate pace despite some rocky moments earlier in the year.
The headline number beat expectations but the unemployment rate rose a tick to 5% from 4.9% and average hourly wages climbed 0.3%. The influx of new workers and job seekers, particularly since last fall, pushed the labor-force participation rate up to its highest level in two years.
S&P 500 futures ESM6, -0.68% were down 7 points, or 0.4%, to 2,044, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMM6, -0.63% lost 56 points, or 0.3%, to 17,537. Nasdaq-100 futures NQM6, -0.70% shed 19 points, or 0.4%, to 4,459.
The stock market looks set to start the new month and new quarter on a downbeat note, after the S&P 500 gained 0.8% in the first quarter.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.20% closed 0.2% lower, while the Dow DJIA, -0.18% fell 31.57 points, also 0.2%. The S&P is up 1.2% for the week as of Thursday’s close, while the Dow has gained 1%.
