Investing.com - U.S. futures were lower on Friday as traders returned from the Fourth of July holiday to await the monthly employment report, something broadly expected to cement an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later in July.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 14 points or 0.2% by 6:40 AM ET (10:40 GMT), while Dow futures slipped 29 points or 0.1% and S&P 500 futures inched down 4 points or 0.2%.
The employment report is out at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT) and analysts expect the creation of 160,000 jobs, up from 75,000 in May but still comfortably below the average monthly gain in 2018.
"There is a clear sense that the risks of making a policy error, by over-stimulating demand and creating inflation, appear to be low at this juncture," said Mark Dowding, chief investment officer with BlueBay Asset Management. "Therefore, it may require a jobs report adding more than 225k payrolls, plus evidence of higher wages and consumer prices, in order for the Fed to stand pat."
Markets have already priced in a cut of 25 basis points in July, with a 60% chance of three cuts by the end of the year.
Dowding noted that the political pressure to ease policy from President Donald Trump could also make it harder for the Fed to keep rates where they are.
Semiconductor makers were under pressure in premarket trading after Korean giant Samsung (KS:005930) said it expects second-quarter profit to have fallen dramatically. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell 0.5%, while Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was down 2.7% and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) down 0.2%
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose 0.3% in premarket trading, while BMW (OTC:BMWYY) ADRs, which hit a six-week high on Wednesday, were also in focus after CEO Harald Kruger announced his resignation amid reports that the company's supervisory board had lost confidence in him.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is also in the spotlight, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority told the e-commerce giant to pause its integration with meal delivery service Deliveroo, while it decides whether or not to launch an investigation into a possible competition breach.
In commodities, crude oil fell 0.8% to $56.85 a barrel, while gold futures were down 0.3% to $1,416.55 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.2% to 96.530.
Markets have already priced in a cut of 25 basis points in July, with a 60% chance of three cuts by the end of the year.
Markets have already priced in a cut of 25 basis points in July, with a 60% chance of three cuts by the end of the year.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell 0.5%, while Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) slumped 4.1% and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)was down 2.7%.