Opening Call:
U.S. stock futures fell on Friday, pointing to a fifth session of losses for Wall Street, after a slump in Chinese exports piled onto concerns about slowing global growth.
Investors are bracing for U.S. jobs data Friday, with February nonfarm payrolls due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, alongside the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings.
Non-farm payrolls are expected to increase by 180,000 in February, according to the WSJ consensus. This would be much smaller than January's 304,000 rise but is "unlikely to change the picture," with the unemployment rate expected to decline, UniCredit said.
And uncertainty was lingering over a U.S.-China trade deal. A New York Times report on Thursday said the two sides had reached a broad agreement, but Chinese officials are reportedly concerned about the final terms of any deal.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%. The S&P 500 index dropped 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.1%.
With one session left, the Nasdaq is facing a 2.2% drop for the week, while the Dow industrials and S&P 500 are off around 2% each.
