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* Futures up: Dow 0.36%, S&P 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.27%
By Uday Sampath Kumar
Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on
Friday ahead of a crucial jobs report and as China rolled out a
stimulus plan to shore up its flagging economy.
China's central bank said it would reduce the amount of cash
that banks must hold as reserves, releasing a total of 900
billion yuan ($126.35 billion) in liquidity. The Labor Department's nonfarm payroll data is likely to
show that the U.S. economy added 158,000 jobs in August,
compared with a gain of 164,000 in July, according to a Reuters
survey of economists.
The monthly report, due at 8:30 a.m ET, will be closely
watched after a clutch of economic data from earlier this week
provided mixed views on the U.S. economy amid the drama of a
drawn-out trade war with China.
Data showing a contraction in U.S. factory activity in
August dampened markets on Tuesday, but diffusing political
tensions in Hong Kong and hopes of a de-escalation in U.S.-China
trade tensions helped boost stocks to one-month highs later in
the week.
Markets were also driven by strong growth in private
payrolls and an accelerating services sector. The benchmark S&P
500 .SPX rose 1.3% on Thursday, closing just 1.75% away from
its record high in July.
Analysts have said that weak jobs numbers could put more
pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by as much
as 50-basis points in its mid-September meeting. Market
participants are currently expecting a quarter percentage point
At 7:08 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 84 points, or
0.31%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 8.75 points, or 0.29% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 15.5 points, or 0.2%.
Investors will also keep a close eye on Fed Chairman Jerome
Powell's speech at the University of Zurich, scheduled for 12:30
p.m. ET, which could provide further hints on the monetary
policy before the central bank goes into a quiet period ahead of
its Sept. 17-18 meeting.
Among stocks, Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) MRO.N was down 1.8% after
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut its price target on the stock. Facebook Inc
FB.O also fell marginally following a Wall Street Journal
report that state attorneys general are formally launching
separate antitrust probes into the company.