U.S. markets set to open higher as oil price dip outweighs September employment report concern.
October 8, 2004: 5:33 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Even with all the attention on the pending September jobs report, oil again dominates the pre-opening U.S. stock activity Friday, with futures higher as the end of a Nigerian strike sent oil lower.
Early Friday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were moderately higher, but the 8:30 a.m. ET labor report could shuffle things considerably.
Oil prices slid after the Nigerian unions called off the unscheduled walkout. U.S. crude futures fell 63 cents to $52.04 a barrel in electronic trading, 96 cents off the $53 peak reached in intraday trading Thursday. Brent oil futures slipped 72 cents to $48.18 a barrel in London.
The jobs report is the last one before the presidential election, and thus will be closely watched as a harbinger of the vote coming in 25 days. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect an increase in payrolls of 150,000, up from 144,000 in August, with the unemployment rate holding at 5.4 percent.
Also due before the open is General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates)'s third-quarter earnings. The conglomerate is expected to report earnings of 39 cents a share, down from 40 cents a year earlier, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call.
High oil prices and concern about the safety of various drugs. The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite index both fell 1.1 percent (see chart for details).
Asian-Pacific stocks ended lower, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.1 percent. European markets were cautiously higher in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) fell nearly 2 percent. The aluminum maker said earnings for the third quarter fell to 32 cents a share from 33 cents a year earlier, below analysts' expectations.
AT&T (T: Research, Estimates) was nearly 2 percent higher after the long-distance service provider said it would cut 7,400 jobs and take an $11 billion charge due to its retreat from providing residential phone service.
Treasury prices rose in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.23 percent from 4,24 percent late Thursday. The dollar weakened against the yen and euro. Gold gained.
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