NEW YORK (AP) — Investors are avoiding making any big bets on the stock market ahead of the government’s December report on job creation and unemployment.
The Labor Department’s monthly report, due out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, is expected to show that the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent from 9.8 percent and that the economy created a net total of 145,000 jobs. Some economists are even more optimistic after a private payroll firm estimated this week that companies added nearly 300,000 jobs in December.
Ahead of the opening Friday, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 1 point, or less than 0.1 percent, at 11,647. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are down less than a point, or 0.1 percent, at 1,270. Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 1, or less than 0.1 percent, at 2,277.
