1. US jobs report: The US economy added 155,000 jobs in November, fewer than expected by economists.
However, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, indicating a strong labor market. Paychecks grew by 3.1% over the last year in November, in line with expectations.
Employers have added an average of 215,000 jobs per month over the past year and wages have been slowly creeping higher as the economy has soaked up nearly all its available workers.
2. Huawei fallout: Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Vancouver on Saturday at the request of US authorities, faces a bail hearing on Friday at the British Columbia Supreme Court.
The US and Canadian governments haven’t specified what charges Meng faces, but her arrest follows reports this year that the US Justice Department was investigating whether Huawei violated American sanctions on Iran.
The United States is seeking her extradition.
The arrest has angered Beijing, alarmed investors and raised new doubts about the fragile truce that the leaders of the world’s top two economies reached just days ago. Investors will be watching closely for additional fallout.
Huawei, which makes telecommunications equipment and tech gadgets, said in a statement that it “has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.”
3. Oil moves: OPEC wasn’t able to reach agreement on oil production cuts during a summit on Thursday. But the cartel is expected to finish the job on Friday.
OPEC is seeking to stabilize oil markets after US crude prices plunged 22% in November, marking the the worst month since the global financial crisis in October 2008.
Discussions on Friday will be expanded to include Russia, the world’s second biggest oil producer and a key partner in OPEC efforts to slash production and boost prices.
Oil prices tumbled 2.7% on Thursday when OPEC members emerged from negotiations without consensus on the level of production cuts. Prices dipped again on Friday to trade at $51.30 per barrel.
4. Global market overview: US stock futures were pointing lower. European markets opened higher, following a mixed trading session in Asia.
The Dow closed down 0.3% on Thursday after a wild trading day. It plunged as much as 785 points, or 2%, during the day. The S&P 500 shed 0.2%.
The Nasdaq gained 0.4%, bouncing back from a 2.4% drop earlier in the day.
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5. Earnings and economics: Big Lots (BIG) will release earnings before the open.
The preliminary University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Canada’s jobs report for November will be published at 8:30 a.m. ET.
6. Coming this week:
Friday — US jobs numbers
