Wall Street ticked modestly higher before Friday's opening bell in cautious trading before the U.S. releases the latest data on the U.S. jobs market.
Futures for the Dow and S&P 500 rose about 0.1%.
A comprehensive report on U.S. employment is due Friday, with economists expecting that hiring slowed to 163,000 jobs in September, down from 187,000 in August. Strong reports on job openings and unemployment benefits applications this week point to a jobs market that remains heated, complicating the Federal Reserve's inflation fight.
Job openings jumped unexpectedly to 9.6 million in August, while layoffs remained at historically low levels.
Job openings tend to rise in an environment where workers can quit their current jobs because there are better offers out there.
That suggests companies are paying more to lure workers, which is great for people looking for a better job, but also points to an economy at risk of another uptick in inflation.
That’s why the Fed has raised its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001: to intentionally slow the economy and cool the labor market.
“The sentiment of unease prevails as the market awaits the release of the U.S. employment report later today,” said Anderson Alves at ActivTrades.
Market attention also remains on oil prices, which have fluctuated recently and will have major effects on how central banks act on interest rates.
A recent pullback in the price of oil has offered some relief on the inflation front for both U.S. households and the Federal Reserve.
Stocks have struggled since the summer under the weight of soaring Treasury yields in the bond market, which undercut stock prices and crimp corporate profits. Yields have leaped as traders acquiesce to a new normal where the Federal Reserve is likely to keep its main interest rate at a high level for a long time, as it tries to extinguish high inflation.
In equities trading, shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources jumped more than 10% on reports that it was in talks to be acquired by Exxon Mobil.
In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX each gained 0.8%. Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.8%.
Tokyo was the only major market to decline, while markets in China were closed for a holiday. They will reopen on Monday.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to finish at 30,994.67. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,954.20. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2% to 2,408.73. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 17,485.98.
Shares in Hong Kong jumped on strong buying of property and technology stocks that have seen sharp losses in recent trading sessions. However, troubled property developer China Evergrande's shares were down 1.6%.
U.S. benchmark crude gained 18 cents to $82.49 a barrel. On Thursday, it fell $1.91 to settle at $82.31, a day after tumbling more than $5 for its worst drop in more than a year.
After surging from $70 in the summer to more than $93 last week, the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude has slumped sharply. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 9 cents to $84.16 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.06 Japanese yen from 148.49 yen. The euro cost $1.0561, up from $1.0553.
On Thursday, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite all lost around 0.1%.
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