U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Monthly Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session.

The futures advanced following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to grow by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment crept up to 4.1 percent in February from 4.1 percent in January, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

While the report could add to recent concerns about the strength for the economy, the data may also generate optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver remarks on the economic outlook that could further impact the outlook for rates.

After recovering from early weakness to end Thursday's session sharply higher, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside during trading on Thursday. With the steep drops on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 tumbled to five and four-month closing lows, respectively.

The major averages moved roughly sideways going into the close, lingering near their worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq plummeted 483.48 points or 2.6 percent to 18,069.26, the S&P 500 plunged 104.11 points or 1.8 percent at 5,738.52 and the Dow slumped 427.51 points or 1.0 percent to 42,579.08.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as ongoing concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China led traders to cash in on Wednesday's strong gains.

While Trump's decision to grant a one-month tariff exemption for automakers contributed to a turnaround on Wednesday, uncertainty about further exemptions weighed on Wall Street.

Stocks saw continued weakness even after Trump granted temporary tariff exemptions for Canadian and Mexican goods that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement until April 2nd.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended March 1st.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of February.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of January.

The report said the trade deficit surged to a record high $131.4 billion in January from a revised $98.1 billion in December. Economists had expected the trade deficit to jump to $123.0 billion from the $98.4 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The notably wider trade deficit came as the value of imports soared by 10.0 percent to $401.2 billion, while the value of imports increased by 1.2 percent to $269.8 billion.

Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 4.5 percent to its lowest closing level in seven months.

Substantial weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.6 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Computer hardware stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down to its lowest closing level in a month.

Networking, retail, commercial real estate and software stocks also saw considerable weakness, while telecom, oil and housing stocks bucked the downtrend.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.79 to $67.15 a barrel after inching up $0.05 to $66.36 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after edging up $0.60 to $2,926.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $7.50 to $2,919.10 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.42 yen versus the 147.98 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0875 compared to yesterday's $1.0785.

Asia

Asian stocks retreated on Friday as investors grappled with geopolitical uncertainty and conflicting signals from the U.S. about Trump's tariffs.

Gold ticked higher as the U.S. dollar continued to retreat ahead of key U.S. employment data due later in the day. Oil headed for its biggest weekly drop since October on demand concerns and fears of oversupply in the market.

Chinese shares ended lower after a choppy session as official data showed Chinese export growth eased more than expected at the start of the year and imports logged an unexpected sharp decline amid mounting trade tensions.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3 percent to 3,372.55, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 24,231.30.

Chinese exports grew at a slower pace of 2.3 percent annually in the January to February period following a 10.7 percent spike in December, according to data from the customs office.

Imports declined 8.4 percent from a year ago, in contrast to the 1.0 percent increase registered in December.

China has more room to act on fiscal policy amid domestic and external uncertainties, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an told reporters on Thursday after the country's top leaders delivered a pro-growth message at the National People's Congress.

Japanese markets tumbled as the yen extended gains for a third day against the dollar amid heightened uncertainty over U.S. trade policies and hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan.

The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 2.2 percent to 36,887.17, ending at a six-month low, dragged down by exporters and technology stocks. The broader Topix Index settled 1.6 percent lower at 2,708.59.

Seoul stocks ended lower, with the Kospi finishing down 0.5 percent at 2,563.48. Major defense firm Hanwha Aerospace extended gains to end 7.8 percent higher.

Steel giant Posco Holdings jumped 7.3 percent on expectations of South Korea's participation in the Alaska gas pipeline project.

Australian markets ended sharply lower due to significant losses in banking stocks, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares tumbling 3.3 percent.

Tech and mining stocks also fell, while consumer staple firms posted modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 1.8 percent to 7,948.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 1.8 percent at 8,178.50.

Insignia Financial shares surged nearly 10 percent after private equity houses Bain and CC Capital sweetened their bids for the wealth manager to $5 a share, valuing it at around $3.4 billion.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 12,399.78.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Friday due to uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy and China's growth outlook.

The euro regained bullish momentum against the dollar after European Union leaders committed to a massive step in defense cooperation following decades of hesitation.

The 27 leaders signed off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so willing EU countries can increase military spending.

The German DAX Index is down by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

Among individual stocks, Zalando has tumbled. The German e-retailer announced that it has secured the purchase of 90 percent of About You's share capital in its public takeover offer.

Vivendi has rallied despite the conglomerate posting 6 billion euros ($6.47 billion) in net losses for 2024 after a four-way spinoff late last year.

Hunting Plc, a precision engineering group, has also moved to the upside after acquiring the Organic Oil Recovery (OOR) technology for $17.5 million.

U.S. Economic News

Employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February, according to a closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to grow by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment crept up to 4.1 percent in February from 4.1 percent in January, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

At 10:15 am ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman and New York Federal Reserve President John Williams are due to participate in a discussion of "Monetary Policy Transmission Post-COVID" at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum

Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler is scheduled to speak on "The Rebalancing of Labor Markets Across the World" before the Bank of Portugal's Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market at 12:20 pm ET.

At 12:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum.

Kugler is scheduled to participate in a discussion of "Monetary Policy" at the Bank of Portugal's Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market at 1 pm ET.

At 3 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is due to release its report on consumer credit in the month of January. Consumer credit is expected to increase by $14.5 billion in January after soaring by $40.8 billion in December.