10 things you need to know before the opening bell
It's jobs day in America. Economists forecast that the nonfarm payrolls report will show that the US economy added 180,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9%. They estimate that average hourly earnings grew by 2.8% year-on-year, matching the post-recession high reached in October.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is stepping down next year. Schultz will be appointed executive chairman and focus on Starbucks' higher-end Reserve line and the company's social initiatives. COO Kevin Johnson will assume the CEO position April 3.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Marine Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis for the role of defense secretary. Mattis will oversee roughly 3 million military and civilian personnel, and will face challenges ranging from ISIS to the ongoing territorial and strategic dispute in the South China Sea.
BP approved a $9 billion investment in its Mad Dog project in the Gulf of Mexico. It's the company's first major new platform since the 2010 offshore explosion, Reuters reported, and is a bet that BP can compete with on-shore rivals.
Twitter bought a small, little-known startup to get a new chief of product. The company has finally found a replacement for Kevin Weil, who will take on the challenging job of rekindling the service's stalled user growth.
Theranos is retiring its board of counselors. That means Henry Kissinger and George Shultz are out at the troubled blood-testing company.
Smith & Wesson plunged 8% after-hours Thursday on light EPS guidance. The gunmaker's shares sank after the election on concern that reduced fears of gun control would slow sales.
Britain's construction sector is back on solid ground after entering a recession in the first half of 2016. IHS Markit's purchasing manager's index came in at 52.8 in November. The pound's plunge after Brexit ramped up costs at the fastest pace in five years.
European stocks are tumbling ahead of Sunday's vital referendum in Italy. The nation votes on constitutional reforms, and the future of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. At 6:54 a.m. ET, the FTSE 100 was down 1%. The FTSE Italia A was up by 0.86%, however, and was the only major European index that was green.
US stock futures are slightly lower ahead of the jobs report. The Dow closed at a record high Thursday. Bonds are rallying, but Thursday's sell-off left the benchmark 10-year yield near the highest level since mid-2015.