All eyes on non-farm payrolls report
U.S. stock futures traded marginally higher ahead of the release of the November employment report. The closely-watched report is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET today.
Economists polled by Bloomberg expect the U.S. Department of Labor to say the nation added 548,000 jobs in November. That would be higher than the 531,000 jobs added in October.
The rate of unemployment is expected to fall to 4.5% from October’s reading of 4.6%.
As of 7:45 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 28 points, or 0.08% to 34,650. S&P 500 futures gained 4.75 points, or 0.1% to 4,580.5 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 27.75 points, or 0.17% to 16,016.25.
Meta loosens ban on crypto ads
Meta has backed away from its ban on cryptocurrency ads on all its platforms.
The company, which recently changed its corporate name from Facebook, said in a statement on Thursday that it was reversing the decision, initially made in January 2018.
Meta made the U-turn saying it’s doing so because the crypto landscape “has continued to mature and stabilize in recent years and has seen more government regulations that are setting clearer rules.”
The move is now expected to give crypto wallets, bitcoin exchanges and other crypto and blockchain companies access to more than 3 billion people who use Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
However, Meta will still require advertisers to seek permission from the company to advertise crypto wallets, mining tools, exchanges, as well as borrowing and lending.
Crude futures jump as OPEC+ sticks with current output plan
On the commodities front, crude futures were rising early Friday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies left its production plans unchanged at the conclusion of its latest meeting.
The plan will see the oil producers continue to add 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January next year.
The group, known as OPEC+, said on Thursday that it would consider production hikes before its next official meeting on Jan. 4 if the new omicron Covid variant weighs on demand.
As of 7:45 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.88, or 2.83% to $68.38 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures jumped $2.04, or 2.93% to $71.71 a barrel.
