Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a mixed open on Friday as investors awaited the publication of the January employment report amid expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump would lighten the regulatory load for banks.
The blue-chip Dow futures climbed 45 points, or 0.22%, by 6:49AM ET (11:49GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 3 points, or 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 5 points, or 0.10%.
All eyes will be on the U.S. Labor Department's release of its January nonfarm payrolls (NFPs) report at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT) on Friday.
The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 175,000, following an increase of 156,000 in December, the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.7%, while average hourly earnings are expected to rise 0.3% after gaining 0.4% a month earlier.
Also on the economic calendar, market participants will eye the strength of service sector activity stateside.
The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) will release its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January at 10:00AM ET (15:00GMT) with expectations for the expansion to continue to strengthen.
At the same time, the government will release factory orders data for December.
Additionally, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Charles Evans will have the opportunity to be the first U.S. central bank member to comment on the jobs report as he speaks on current economic conditions at 9:15AM ET (15:15GMT).
In other appearances, U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to sign off on an executive order to review the Dodd-Frank Act rules enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis with the purpose of reducing regulations on banks that he believes hinders Americans’ access to credit.
The new President is also expected to roll back another of former President Barack Obama’s regulations for the financial industry known as fiduciary duty which requires advisers on retirement accounts to work in the best interest of their clients.
The signing is expected to happen around midday in the U.S. after he meets with a dozen corporate executives.
On the company front, the fourth quarter reporting season passed the halfway point on Thursday with 270 of the S&P 500 companies having released earnings.
AutoNation (NYSE:AN), Clorox, Hershey and Madison Square (NYSE:SQ) Garden are among companies scheduled to report earnings on Friday.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged up on Friday on news that Trump could be set to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, raising geopolitical tensions between the two nations.
Trump's administration is prepared to roll out new measures against more than two dozen Iranian targets following Tehran's ballistic missile test, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Markets also looked ahead to data from Baker Hughes out later in the session to take stock of how U.S. shale drillers are responding to higher prices.
According to the most recent data from the oilfield services provider, the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by 15 to 566, its highest level since November 2015.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.50% to $53.81 by 6:50AM ET (11:50GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.57% to $56.88.