U.S. stocks could open on a mixed note on Friday after the averages closed at a record high on Thursday. Futures of major indices were down, while the Dow was marginally higher.
Newell Brands Inc. NWL, Flowers Foods Inc. FLO, and Plains All American Pipeline L.P. PAA are among the companies that will report their earnings today.
The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.43%, while the two-year yield was at 4.23%. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is an 85.5% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged for the March meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.069% |
| S&P 500 | -0.033% |
| Dow Jones | 0.033% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.10% |
In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY fell 0.006% to $606.28 and the Invesco QQQ ETF QQQ declined 0.028% to $529.45, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
U.S. stocks closed on a mixed note on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registering modest gains, while the Dow recorded a marginal decline. Consumer staples, information technology, and financial sectors recorded gains on Thursday, while energy and healthcare stocks closed lower.
On Thursday, Bristol Myers Squibb & Co. BMY posted better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter but issued a weak outlook, resulting in a decline of around 4%. Skyworks Solutions Inc. SWKS shares dipped around 25% after the company issued second-quarter adjusted EPS guidance below estimates.
On the economic front, U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 from the previous week to 219,000 in the final week of January, higher than market expectations of 213,000.
The U.S. unit labor costs increased 3% in the fourth quarter following a 0.5% gain in the third quarter. The nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased by 1.2% in the fourth quarter compared to a revised gain of 2.3% in the third quarter.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.51% | 19,791.99 |
| S&P 500 | 0.36% | 6,083.57 |
| Dow Jones | -0.28% | 44,747.63 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.39% | 2,307.12 |
Insights From Analysts
Sonu Varghese, VP global Macro Strategist at Carson Global, allayed concerns that the U.S. government jobs cut undertaken by Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will hamper the labor market.
"Irrespective of what happens, or does not happen, the turnover in federal government payrolls is going to be tiny compared to what's happening in the overall labor market," he said.
He added that even if the Trump administration laid off everyone except those in Veteran Affairs and crucial defense-related areas, the churn would still be 1.2 million workers – less than an average of 3.4 million workers who quit jobs every month during the fourth quarter.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will keep an eye on Friday:
- The U.S. employment, unemployment, and hourly wages report for January will be out at 8:30 a.m., ET.
- Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will speak at 9:25 a.m., ET.
- December's wholesale inventory data will be announced at 10:00 a.m., ET.
- January's preliminary consumer sentiment data will be out at 10:00 a.m., ET.
- December's consumer credit will be released at 3:00 p.m., ET.
Stocks In Focus:
- Amazon.com Inc. AMZN shares fell over 3% in pre-market amid mixed earnings and Amazon Web Services missing analyst estimates.
- Pinterest Inc. PINS shares ripped over 22% as its earnings beat analyst estimates and bright growth outlook.
- Affirm Holdings Inc. AFRM shares surged over 16% after the company swung back to profitability and posted a revenue surge.
- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. TTWO shares gained nearly 6% as Goldman Sachs analysts raised the price target for the stock after the company posted healthy revenue growth and delivered a positive outlook.
- Investors are awaiting earnings results from Newell Brands Inc. NWL, Flowers Foods, Inc. FLO, and Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. PAA today.
Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.76% to hover around $71.14 per barrel.
The gold spot index was up by 0.34% to $2,866.30 per ounce. The Dollar Index was up 0.08% at 107.77 level.
Asian markets were trading mixed on Friday. China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced, while Australia’s ASX 200, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and South Korea’s Kospi declined. European markets were also mixed.
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