Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on October 3, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were flat Thursday night as traders held off on Friday morning’s widely expected September jobs report.
Futures, which track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 26 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures are almost unchanged.
A high-profile port strike ended Thursday night when the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a tentative agreement on wages. The parties also agreed to extend the existing contract until January to allow more time for further negotiations.
The moves came after major averages ended trading lower on Thursday. The Dow 30 fell 184.93 points (0.44%), and the S&P 500 fell 0.17%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed 0.04% lower.
U.S. crude oil futures rose about 5% on Thursday, weighing on the major averages. Energy prices rose sharply this week as tensions in the Middle East rose following Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
Investors are bracing for the release of the September jobs report on Friday, which could be the next big catalyst for the market. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 150,000 from August’s 142,000. The unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.2%.
Barbara Dolan, founder of BD8 Capital Partners, said Friday’s jobs report would only move the market if it was worse than expected.
“I think tomorrow’s numbers will be important, but I don’t think they’ll have a huge impact, and I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t a good number,” he said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” spoke. afternoon.
Stock markets got off to a volatile start in October due to rising geopolitical tensions. These headwinds could cause stocks to fall and end the week in negative territory, Dolan added.
In fact, all three major averages are on pace for three-week winning streaks. The S&P 500, like the Dow, is down 0.7% since the start of the week. The Nasdaq is expected to decline 1.1% over the same period.
