US pre-open: Stocks seen flat ahead of payrolls, amid election uncertainty

US futures pointed to a broadly flat open on Wall Street ahead of the latest nonfarm payrolls report, with next week’s presidential elections still firmly on investors’ minds.

At 1100 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures were flat.

Meanwhile, oil prices were a touch weaker, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.1% to $44.62 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.4% to $46.15.

Jamies Blake, retail sales manager at ADS Securities London, said: “If the (nonfarms) print impresses – and especially if the average wage data looks feisty - then it will drive the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates before the year is out, a move that is classically negative for equities. Equally any notable disappointment could play into the hands of Donald Trump, although the reality is that it’s been some time since the US election campaign appeared to have much focus on economics.

“This overhang of next week’s Presidential election and the fact that there’s little between the two candidates is again likely to act as something of a drag on market sentiment.”

Societe Generale expects the payrolls report to show a gain of around 200,000 in October.

As far as next Tuesday’s election is concerned, a RealClearPolitics average of polls showed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s lead at 1.5 points early on Friday, up a touch from 1.3 points late on Thursday, but still lower than her 7 point lead in mid-October.

Oanda’s Craig Erlam said: “It would appear that risk aversion is going to carry markets into the weekend, with investors potentially unsure of what the next couple of days will bring. Last Friday provided quite a shock for markets, another significant blow for Clinton could all but hand the Presidency to Trump. Investors are not willing to take that risk, it seems.”

In corporate news, Starbucks shares rose in pre-market trade following the release of its fourth-quarter results late on Thursday, which were ahead of estimates in terms of earnings per share and revenue.

On the downside, GoPro tumbled after its quarterly results late on Thursday missed expectations.

The nonfarm payrolls report and unemployment rate are at 1230 GMT, along with trade balance figures.