US pre-open: Markets to partially recover losses

US markets looked to recover some of its losses at the end of the first week of the trading year after China’s markets rebounded.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to open up around 94 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to begin the session 11 and 33 points higher respectively.

All eyes will be on the jobs report due out at 1330 GMT, with December’s non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate.

At 1500 GMT, wholesale trade sales and inventories data will also be released, while the Baker Hughes Rig Count will be published at 1800 GMT and consumer credit levels will be posted at 2000 GMT.

China rebounds as rollercoaster continues

Elsewhere, Asian markets appeared to be in a less fidgety mood given Beijing had suspended its new circuit-breaker rule which closed the markets twice this week.

There was also fresh optimism in the renminbi, as the central bank guided the onshore yuan's loose peg upward in a bid to calm the markets.

It had reached its lowest level against the greenback on Thursday, but was seen trading at 6.5883 on Friday.

Beijing's National Team, a group of state-owned funds tasked with buying stocks at times of volatility, were also mooted as a reason for the calm by some analysts, with Forsyth Barr Asia's Bill Bowler saying "it's not unfair to think they're in there to some extent".

Many analysts and traders believed the circuit breaker - which pauses the markets for 15 minutes on a 5% decline, and closed them for the day on a 7% drop - was only working to panic investors, and give them time to put in reactionary sell orders.

European markets reversed earlier gains to trade a little lower as soft Eurozone data and the upcoming release of key US jobs data kept investors wary, despite the Chinese recovery.

Oil prices appears to stabilise from the week’s falls, with Brent up 0.27% to $33.84 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.06% to $33.25.

The dollar was up against all the major currencies, rising 0.22% against the pound, 0.66% against the euro and 0.57% against the yen. Spot gold was down 0.73% to $1,100.83.

In company news, Apple recovered 1% in pre-market trade following reports earlier in the week that iPhone 6S and 6S Plus production levels are being cut due to low demand.

Investors will also be keeping an eye on FedEx Corp, which has risen 2% before the bell after EU regulators approved its takeover of TNT Express.