Investing.com – U.S. futures were flat on Friday as investors look ahead to the monthly jobs report data.
The S&P 500 futures rose one point or 0.04% to 2,829.50 as of 6:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT) while Dow futures were up 10 points or 0.04% to 25,315.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased seven points or 0.09% to 7,392.75.
The U.S. Labor Department will release the nonfarm payrolls report for July at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT) on Friday, with investors paying close attention to wage data.
An increase in hourly earnings figures could put the Federal Reserve on notice as it watches closely for signs of inflation. The central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected. However, it upgraded its view on the economy, as strong U.S. economic data supports gradual rate hikes to continue.
Trade uncertainty remained on investors minds after reports that the White House plans to propose 25% instead of 10% on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods. China has responded that it would retaliate if the U.S. continues to impose fresh trade tariffs.
Earnings season winds down on Friday, with Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) on tap to reports its earnings, along with Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN).
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, rising 0.85% while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) increased 0.50%. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LON:RBS) Ps ADR (NYSE:RBS_ps) (LON:RBS) surged 2.11% after the bank paid its first divided in 10 years.
Elsewhere, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) fell 2.32% while General Electric (NYSE:GE) was down 0.30%.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose 62 points or 0.50% while in France the CAC 40 increased 17 points points or 0.33% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 50 points or 0.66%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 12 points or 0.37% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched up 31 points or 0.33%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.33% to $1,216.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures were down 0.26% to $68.78 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.08% to 95.08.