10 things you need to know before the opening bell
It's jobs day in America. The US economy is expected to have added 180,000 nonfarm jobs in August as the unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, according to the Bloomberg consensus. Additionally, average hourly earnings are forecast to climb at a 2.5% year-over-year pace.
Data out of the UK continues to show a post-Brexit improvement. Construction PMI came in at 49.2, substantially above July's 45.9 print. And while the sector remains in contraction, the reading showed the data to be stabilizing after the UK's vote to leave the European Union. The British pound is little changed near 1.3270 versus the dollar.
The majority of Scots want to remain in the UK. A YouGov poll for the Times newspaper showed that two years after the Scottish independence vote 54% of Scots say they want to remain in the United Kingdom.
South Korea's second-quarter GDP beat. The South Korean economy expanded at a 0.8% quarter-over-quarter clip (versus 0.7% expected), but a finance-ministry official said full-year growth was probably going to be closer to 2.8%, Reuters reports.
The US dollar continues to dominate foreign-exchange trading. Triannual data released by the Bank for International Settlements showed the US dollar "was on one side of 88% of all trades in April 2016, up slightly from 87% in April 2013."
Smith & Wesson sees a ton of gun sales in the future. The gunmaker crushed analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines, and it raised its full-year earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $2.38 to $2.48, up from a range of $1.83 to $2.03.
Lululemon's same-store sales missed. The athletic-apparel retailer posted in-line earnings and revenue, but same-store sales including direct-to-consumer but excluding FX adjustments were light, coming in at up 5.0% versus expectations for a 5.9% increase. Lululemon shares lost 8.5% in after-hours trade.
Japan might invest in Russian oil giant. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two days of talks in Vladivostok. The two leaders are expected to discuss a $10 billion Japanese investment, or about a 10% stake, in the Russian oil firm Rosneft, Nikkei reports.
Stock markets around the world are bid. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.5%) led the advance in Asia, and France's CAC (+1.0%) paces the gains in Europe. S&P 500 futures are up 0.50 points at 2,160.75.
US economic data is heavy. Aside from the jobs report, the trade balance will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Then, at 10 a.m. ET, factory orders and durable goods orders will be released. Finally, the Baker Hughes rig count is due out at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 2 basis points at 1.59%.