US pre-open: Futures lower ahead of NFP data

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Friday as investors awaited the release of key labour market data later in the day.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.27%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite futures had the indices opening 0.30% and 0.33% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 10.15 points higher on Thursday following the release of minutes from last month's FOMC meeting the day before.

Major indices were all on track to snap a nine-week winning streak early on Friday, with a cooling off of large-cap tech stocks and fears that optimism surrounding interest rate cuts may be overdone both weighing on the market.

Ahead of the open, the yield on the benchmark ten-year US Treasury note was up almost four basis points at 4.036%, while its two-year counterpart was up four-and-a-half basis points at 4.429%.

“Markets continue to be choppy as investors recalibrate expectations for interest rate cuts this year. After euphoria last November and December amid hopes the Fed would cut rates as soon as March 2024, the central bank has since tried to dampen expectations and the latest meeting minutes further muddied the water," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould.

"Rate cuts now look as if they are going to be a story for the middle of the year and that's prompted investors to temporarily pause for thought, leading to bouts of profit taking from the recent rally."

On the macro front, December's non-farm payrolls report will be released at 1330 GMT, and likely be the primary driver of sentiment on Friday, while last month's ISM services data and November factory orders figures will be out at 1500 GMT.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com