FX.co ★ U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Following Mixed Jobs Data

Following Thursday's subdued session, stock markets may continue to see volatility in early trading on Friday. Futures for the major indices suggest a steady open, with S&P 500 futures only slightly up by less than 0.1%.

A degree of fluctuation in the futures market was observed after the Labor Department released its eagerly anticipated employment report for January.

The report revealed a smaller-than-anticipated increase in U.S. employment for January, but the unexpected silver lining was a slight decline in the unemployment rate.

Specifically, non-farm payroll employment increased by 143,000 jobs during January, following a significant rise of 307,000 jobs in December, which was later revised upwards. Economists had been projecting a rise of 170,000 jobs, following an initially reported jump of 256,000 jobs in the previous month.

Job growth in the healthcare, retail, and social assistance sectors was somewhat offset by reductions in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries, according to the Labor Department.

Interestingly, the unemployment rate declined to 4.0% in January from 4.1% in December when it was expected to remain constant.

This mixed economic data poses some ambiguity regarding future interest rate trends, resulting in a cautious approach by some market participants.

Soon after trading commences, the University of Michigan is set to release its preliminary assessment of consumer sentiment for February. Expectations are for the consumer sentiment index to improve marginally to 72.0 from January's 71.1.

This report also offers insights into short- and long-term inflation expectations, which may influence interest rate outlooks.

Thursday's trading session was characterized by indecisiveness, with major indices oscillating around the unchanged mark before closing on a mixed note.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices reached new session highs towards the close, marking the third consecutive day of gains. The Nasdaq rose by 99.66 points or 0.5% to 19,791.99 and the S&P 500 increased by 22.09 points or 0.4% to 6,083.57. In contrast, the Dow dipped by 125.65 points or 0.3% to 44,747.63.

International markets displayed varied outcomes on Friday; the Asia-Pacific region saw a mixed performance with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declining by 0.7% while China's Shanghai Composite Index appreciated by 1.0%.

In Europe, major markets marginally fell, as evidenced by a 0.1% decrease in Germany's DAX Index, and a 0.3% decline seen in both France's CAC 40 Index and the UK's FTSE 100 Index.

In commodities, crude oil futures gained $0.50 to reach $71.11 per barrel, recovering from Thursday's $0.42 drop to $70.61 per barrel. Gold futures are inching up by $6.80 to $2,883.50 an ounce after losing $16.30 to settle at $2,876.70 an ounce previously.

Regarding currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading higher at 151.81 yen, up from 151.41 yen at Thursday's New York close. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0369, down from $1.0383 the previous day.