U.S. futures were falling premarket Friday after a Thursday session when the market largely pared gains from earlier in the day to close lower. The Nasdaq was the only index yesterday to close in the green, up 0.01%.
Markets should get a bump today following the release of the March nonfarm payroll numbers. Payrolls rose 215,000 in March, topping analysts' consensus estimates of 210,000. The unemployment rate did inch up to 5.0% from 4.9%. Private payrolls increased 195,000, while the participation rate inched up to 63.0% from 62.9%.
Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were down 0.30%-0.40% Friday.
World markets were also declining Friday, with the Nikkei declining 3.6% and the Hang Seng falling 1.3%. In Europe, the DAX and CAC40 were both down 2%, while the FTSE 100 was declining 1.4% with about three hours left in trading.
The European Central Bank began its latest round of asset purchases today, as its monthly purchasing total rose to 80 billion euros.
Oil prices were falling premarket two weeks ahead of a meeting of oil producers scheduled for April 17. There is some consternation among industry watchers who believe that the involved parties will not be able to come to an agreement on production cuts. Brent crude for June delivery is falling $0.87 to $39.46 per barrel while West Texas crude contracts were declining $0.85 to $37.49 per barrel.
Yahoo! (YHOO) shares were lower premarket following reports that senior vice president of talent acquisition Sandy Gould would be leaving the company amid its drawn-out turnaround effort.
Tesla Motors (TSLA) shares were spiking premarket following the unveiling of the company's Model 3 sedan. The electric vehicle is about half the price of the company's next most affordable offering and is expected to help increase the car company's deliveries.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) could face negative pressure on Friday after Chinese insurer Anbang withdrew its unsolicited $14 billion bid for the company. The move will allow Marriott (MAR) to close its acquisition of the company. Last week Marriott upped its own bid to $13.6 billion after Anbang topped the two companies' previous $12.2 billion agreement.
Finally, BlackBerry (BBRY) shares were falling hard premarket following the release of the smartphone maker's most recent quarterly results. The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $238 million, or $0.03 per share, after reporting a profit in the year-ago period. While the loss was narrower than the $0.09 per share loss analysts were expecting, the company also missed on revenue.
