US stock futures hit pause on Friday as investors braced for the highly anticipated monthly jobs report and digested Amazon’s (AMZN) disappointing revenue outlook.
Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) hovered below the flat line. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were also little changed on the heels of a mixed day for stocks on Wall Street.
The wait is on for January nonfarm payrolls data to provide a health check on the labor market, which has become more crucial to hopes for another Federal Reserve interest-rate cut. Investors are watching for signs of continued stability, as they eye President Donald Trump’s tariff push and the chances of higher inflation.
The jobs report is expected to show 170,000 jobs were added in January, a slowing from the 256,000 in December, when it’s released at 8:30 a.m. ET. But Friday’s reading likely won’t be a game-changer for the Fed, economists believe, keeping alive bets that no rate cut will arrive until the central bank’s June meeting.
Meanwhile, eyes were on Amazon’s (AMZN) earnings after it joined Google (GOOG) and other AI-focused Big Tech companies in disappointing Wall Street with its revenue outlook. Shares in Amazon dropped around 4% in pre-market trading, echoing post-results pullbacks for Google and AMD (AMD) amid doubts about high AI development spending.
But the three major stock gauges are on track to close the earnings-packed week with small gains, even after unpredictable tariff news from Trump kept traders on their toes.
The president has now set his eyes on hedge funds, with a plan to close a favorite tax deduction loophole for fund managers. An adjustment to the closely watched state and local tax (SALT) deduction was also on his administration’s list of tax priorities outlined on Thursday.
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