Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, October 5:
1. Jobs Report In Focus
The September employment report will be in focus on Friday, as investors look for confirmation that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates in December.
The Labor Department will release the numbers at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).
On average, economists expect that nonfarm payrolls rose by 185,000 last month, down from a rise of 201,000 in August. The jobless rate is expected to tick down to 3.8%.
Average hourly earnings are forecast to have risen 0.3% in September, a 2.8% gain year on year.
A recent flurry of strong data has increased expectations that the Fed will raise rates. If the payrolls report is stronger than expected and wage growth remains stagnant, yields could rise.
The benchmark United States 10-Year note surged this week, leading to an equity sell-off after hawkish comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who indicated the central bank could move beyond a neutral level for rates.
The yield on the 10-year rose to 3.206%, near levels not seen since 2011.
2. Mike Pompeo to Visit North Korea
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to travel to North Korea for the fourth time this year. His visit on Saturday will focus on denuclearization talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Pompeo is also expected to travel to Japan, South Korea and China between October 6-8, the U.S. state department said.
The visit is ahead of a planned second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I think it shows forward progress and momentum that the secretary is making his fourth trip back in less than a year,” U.S. state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters. “Of course, we have quite a ways to go but we look forward to the next steps in this conversation,” she added.
3. Global Stocks Tumble
Global stocks wobbled on Friday, with Wall Street poised to open lower as increased Treasury yields weighed on markets.
The S&P 500 futures fell 0.12% while Dow futures lost 0.08% and tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 0.27%.
Trading in Europe was also lower as Italy’s budget crisis and rising benchmark yields worried investors.
Meanwhile in Asia, stocks closed in the red. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed down 0.19% while in Japan, the TOPIX dipped 0.47% and the Nikkei 225 lost 0.58%.
On mainland China, indexes were closed for the week for a national holiday.
4. U.S. Dollar Inches Forward Ahead of Jobs Data
The greenback gained some strength on Friday, as traders waited for the monthly jobs report.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was at 95.54 after hitting an overnight high of 95.78, the highest since August 20. The dollar was boosted by upbeat economic data increased expectations for a Fed rate hike in December.
Meanwhile, sterling eased back from earlier gains after reports that a Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union was very close to being sealed. GBP/USD rose to 1.3040.
5. Oil Prices Rise Ahead of U.S. Sanctions Against Iran
Oil prices were slightly higher on Friday as upcoming U.S. sanctions on Iran weighed on the market’s supply outlook and traders looked ahead to weekly rig count data.
The sanctions are due to take effect November 4 and have already caused Iran’s crude exports to fall.
Energy analysts fear that OPEC and other major non-OPEC producers, including Russia, have little spare capacity to boost output in order to offset a looming supply crunch and some now think $100 a barrel for Brent might be possible by the year end or in early 2019.
The weekly U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count, which is a leading indicator of demand for oil products, comes out later in the session. Inventories in the U.S. surged last week, rising to nearly 8 million, the largest weekly inventory rise since March 2017.