US pre-open: Futures mixed ahead of key jobs report

Wall Street futures were pointing to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Friday ahead of last month's nonfarm payrolls report.

As of 1200 BST, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up 0.18% and 0.05%, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.20% weaker.

The Dow Jones closed 346.87 points higher on Thursday as commodity prices eased.

Friday's primary focus will be June's employment report, which is expected to show another month of strong hiring, with the US economy predicted to have added 250,000 jobs as the unemployment rate remains flat at 3.6%.

Traders were also digesting the latest set of FOMC minutes, which confirmed the central bank was willing to provide further support as part of an effort to manage inflation. However, recession concerns also continued to hang over Wall Street.

Hargreaves Lansdown's Sophie Lund-Yates said: "Global markets are hotly anticipating a key US jobs report today. This is likely to be a double-edged sword for investors. While the data is expected to show another round of strong hiring, which is inherently positive, it also paves the way for policymakers to hike interest rates even more aggressively. This is an upside-down situation whereby the announcement of a stronger economic foundation could be viewed as a catalyst for increased market jitters."

On the macro front, June's nonfarm payrolls report will be published at 1330 BST, while May wholesale inventories data and consumer credit change figures will follow at 1500 BST and 2000 BST, respectively.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com