(RTTNews) - Stocks are poised to open notably lower on Friday, as a disappointing monthly jobs report has deflated trader sentiment before the opening bell. The major index futures are all in negative territory, with the Dow futures down by 67 points.
Employment fell by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Labor Department this morning, with the continued decrease in jobs pushing the unemployment rate up to a new twenty-six year high above 10 percent.
Non-farm payroll employment fell by 190,000 jobs in October following a revised decrease of 219,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected a decrease of about 175,000 jobs compared to the loss of 263,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the continued drop in jobs, the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October from an unrevised 9.8 percent in September. The unemployment rate had been expected to show a more modest increase to 9.9 percent.
Also on the economic front, the Commerce Department's wholesale inventories report is due to be released at 10 a.m. ET. Inventories at the end of September are expected to have declined by 1 percent.
The Federal Reserve's consumer credit report for September may also garner some attention as the market looks to see if there has been a slowdown in the decline in outstanding consumer credit. Economists expect consumer credit to shrink by $10 billion. The report is due to be released at 3 p.m. ET.
In earnings news, AIG (AIG) reported third quarter net income of $0.68 cents per share compared with a net loss in the year-ago period, with the profit reflecting the absence of catastrophe losses and a decline in investment losses.
CBS Corp. (CBS) posted adjusted earnings of $0.25 cents per share for its third quarter, ahead of the $0.22 cents per share expected by Wall Street analysts. Revenues fell slightly, coming in at $3.35 billion, but also beat forecasts that averaged $3.20 billion.
Coffee retailer Starbucks (SBUX) reported that its third quarter adjusted earnings rose to $0.24 cents per share from $0.10 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues for the quarter were $2.42 billion, slipping from the $2.51 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts estimated earnings of $0.21 cents per share on revenues of $2.39 billion.
Stocks saw a significant rally on Thursday, as trader sentiment picked up following some upbeat figures on the labor market and quarterly productivity. The Dow closed up 204 points at 10,006, the Nasdaq rose 50 points to end at 2,105 and the S&P 500 advanced by 20 points to 1,067.
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