All eyes on October employment data
U.S. equity futures ticked higher on Friday, as market players waited for the release of October employment data.
The report U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will publish the report at 8:30 a.m. ET. It will provide clues on the health of the U.S. economy during a period of global trade tensions.
Economists expect the economy to have added 89,000 jobs last month compared to 136,000 additions in September, according to Refinitiv. Unemployment rate is forecast to have risen to 3.6% last month from 3.5% in September.
By 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 46 points, or 0.17% to 27,028. Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 5.63 points, or 0.19% to 3,041.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 20.63 points, or 0.25% to 8,110.88.
On the earnings front, investors are preparing to assess a raft of corporate earnings today. Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) are among those expected to report.
China posts surprise manufacturing PMI
Elsewhere, a private survey released early Friday shows Chinese manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace in nearly three years last month.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 51.7, up from 51.4 in September. Analysts had forecast a reading of 51.0 according to Reuters.
The last time the reading was this high was February 2017. A reading above 50 signals expansion while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. According to the survey, output and new orders rose at a faster pace with a renewed increase in export business.
Pinterest shares plunge 22% on revenue miss and downbeat guidance
Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) stock took a beating in premarket trade on Friday as the company gave a disappointing guidance and reported third-quarter revenue below Wall Street’s estimates.
The image-sharing site generated revenue of $279.7 million in the quarter, missing consensus forecasts of $281 million. However, adjusted profit of $0.01 per share surpassed expectations of a loss of $0.04 per share.
For the full year, Pinterest predicts revenue of $1.1 billion to $1.115 billion. Analysts on average project full-year revenue of $1.12 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Shares of the company sank 22.04% to $19.60 in premarket trading session.