U.S. Stock Futures Regain Ground But Continue To Point To Lower Open
After falling sharply earlier this morning, U.S. stock futures have significantly pared their losses following the release of better than expected jobs data. The Dow futures are currently down by 207 points after falling more than 500 points.
The rebound by the futures came after a closely watched Labor Department report showed U.S. employment once again jumped by much more than expected in the month of February.
The report showed non-farm payroll employment spiked by 678,000 jobs in February after surging by an upwardly revised 481,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 467,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate dipped to 3.8 percent in February from 4.0 percent in January. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 3.9 percent.
Concerns about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine may continue to weigh on the markets, however, as Russia continues ratcheting up its attacks.
Russia has reportedly taken control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
The Russian attack on the plant had previously caused a fire to break out at the facility, raising concerns about a potential nuclear disaster.
Stocks showed wild swings over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the volatility seen in recent sessions. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing in negative territory.
The major averages all ended the day in the red, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts. While the Nasdaq tumbled 214.08 points or 1.6 percent to 13,537.94, the Dow fell 96.69 points or 0.3 percent to 33,794.66 and the S&P 500 slid 23.05 points or 0.5 percent to 4,363.49.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the downside during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.2 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent.
The major European markets have also moved sharply lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has plummeted by 3.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are down by 3.2 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are spiking $4.18 to $111.85 a barrel after tumbling $2.93 to $107.67 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $13.60 to $1,935.90 an ounce an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $11.20 to $1,947.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 115.42 yen versus the 115.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0909 compared to yesterday’s $1.1066.
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