Futures Steady Friday



Stock futures were little changed Friday as investors awaited the July jobs report, looking for further clues about the Federal Reserve’s path of rate hikes and the state of the economy.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials jumped 75 points, or 0.2%, early Friday to 32,756.

Futures for the S&P 500 nosed up 4.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,157.

Futures for the NASDAQ Composite were unchanged at 13,327.

The S&P 500 is up a modest 0.5% on the week, attempting to post a three-week winning streak. The blue-chip Dow has dipped 0.4% this week, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite has outperformed, up 2.7% on the week.

Economists expect 258,000 jobs were added in July, down from 372,000 in June, according to Dow Jones. Unemployment is expected to hold steady at 3.6%. The jobs report was released Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tacked on 0.9% Friday. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng edged up 0.1%

Oil prices gained 14 cents to $88.68 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices demurred $3.40 to $1,803.00 U.S. an ounce.