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 around 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’s 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 cracks in the market’s 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 3% 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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Europe stocks wobble, but head for 7th weekly win
Stocks in Europe wavered on Friday but were on track for weekly gains after a run of robust earnings reports from Novo Nordisk (NVO, NOVO-B.CO) and others.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) index was holding steady, not far off record highs as it eyed its seventh weekly win in a row. In 2025 so far, European stocks have notched their best performance compared with their US counterparts in around 10 years.
In individual benchmarks, Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) edged up 0.1%, while the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris traded flat.
London’s FTSE 100 index (^FTSE) slipped roughly 0.3%, after surging on Thursday on the heels of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England that came with unexpectedly dovish commentary.
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