Stocks: 6 things to know before the bell
1. Jobs, jobs, jobs: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is publishing its October jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET.
This report is considered one of the biggest economic events of the month and is known to move markets.
Economists surveyed by CNNMoney forecast that employers added 301,000 jobs in October. The latest numbers follow an unusually weak September, when the economy lost 33,000 jobs because many Houston and Florida employers were closed due to heavy storms.Economists expect that the unemployment rate will remain at 4.2%, which is what most consider to be full employment. Even if unemployment ticks up, that might be because the stronger labor market has prompted some unemployed people who had stopped looking for work to resume their search. The unemployment rate only counts people who are actively seeking a job.
2. Great Xpectations: Apple’s (AAPL, Tech30) newest smartphone — the $ 999 iPhone X — went on sale in stores around the world Friday. And the company has high hopes that this phone will generate big sales.
The company issued a forecast Thursday saying sales for the upcoming holiday quarter would fall between $ 84 billion and $ 87 billion.
The projected revenue exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, helping to boost Apple shares in extended trading.
If those gains hold when the market opens, Apple would approach a $ 900 billion market cap.
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3. Stock market movers — Starbucks, Broadcom: Shares in Starbucks (SBUX) were down about 4% premarket as investors worried about the company’s future without former CEO Howard Schultz. Starbucks on Thursday posted disappointing sales growth for the most recent quarter.
This is the second set of earnings from the company since Kevin Johnson took over as Starbucks’ top executive in April.
Shares in Broadcom (AVGO) are getting a small lift after the semiconductor company said it would move its legal headquarters back to the U.S. from Singapore.
CEO Hock Tan cited the new Republican tax plan as a reason to return. Among other changes, the plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35%.
“America is once again the best place to lead a business with a global footprint,” Tan said. However, he added that the company will move its headquarters regardless of whether the tax bill passes.
4. More earnings: Madison Square Garden (MSG), Moody’s (MCO), Potbelly (PBPB), Scripps (SSP) and Sotheby’s (BID) are set to release earnings before the open Friday
Then Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) plans to release earnings after the close. It’s one of the only companies that releases quarterly results on Friday afternoons.
5. Global market overview: The markets are quite calm right now.
U.S. stock futures were edging up. European markets were mixed in early trading. Most Asian markets ended the day with small gains.
This comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also not far from record highs set on Wednesday.
On the commodities side, crude oil futures are climbing to trade around their highest levels in two years, at $ 55 per barrel.
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6. Coming this week:
Friday — October jobs report; iPhone X hits stores
