Futures are rallying ahead of the jobs report
Near 6:48 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up 64 points, S&P 500 futures were up 6, and Nasdaq futures were up 22. It's also green across most major global stock markets. Chinese markets are on holiday until the middle of next week.
Wall Street is expecting the lowest nonfarm payroll print in 18 months: 200,000. The consensus is for the unemployment rate to hold at 5.1%, and average hourly earnings to increase 0.2%.
Here's the brief Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets sent to clients this morning:
"Equities positive this morning, trying to regain the abandoned week-highs posted yesterday. Sentiment buoyed by China stimulus news and a mature indifference to today's US jobs report. The latter comes from the fact that whether the jobs number is good, bad or ugly, it won't change the fact that employment is not the problem for the Fed."
"The issue is an emerging markets slowdown and potential credit bubble coupled with absent inflation, a trio on which we will be none the wiser come 1.30 p.m. [8:30 a.m. ET], although Fed speakers Harker, Bullard and Fischer will almost certainly do their utmost to keep us on our toes into the weekend."
The other data expected today are August factory orders, and this week's tally of oil and gas rigs from driller Baker Hughes.
The US dollar index is flat, while treasuries are falling after the benchmark 10-year note yield fell to the lowest level in over a month earlier this week.
Gold was lower by about $7 an ounce, near $1,106.20.