U.S. stock-index futures remain slightly higher after March jobs data.
Amid soaring inflation and worries about a looming recession, the U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs than expected in March as the labor market grew increasingly tighter.
Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 431,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate was 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 490,000 on payrolls and 3.7% for the jobless level.
Alibaba, DiDi Global, NIO, and other U.S.-listed Chinese stocks were soaring Friday following news that Beijing was readying the handover of auditing reports of around 200 companies to U.S. regulators.
Market Snapshot
At 8:33 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 166 points, or 0.48%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 21 points, or 0.46%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 78 points, or 0.52%.
Pre-Market Movers
GameStop – GameStop plans to seek shareholder approval to boost the number of shares outstanding in order to enable a stock split. The videogame retailer is proposing an increase to 1 billion shares from 300 million. The stock surged 13.4% in the premarket.
Apple – J.P. Morgan Securities removed the stock from its "Analyst Focus List," saying a moderation in consumer spending may limit benefits from the iPhone SE launch and the potential for upside in services revenue. However, the firm retained an "overweight" rating on the stock.
BlackBerry – BlackBerry earned an unexpected profit for its latest quarter, but the communications software company's revenue fell below analyst forecasts. The revenue miss came as growth in its cybersecurity unit flattened. Shares slid 5% in premarket trading.
Wynn Resorts – The resort and casino operator's stock added 2.5% in the premarket after Citi upgraded it to "buy" from "neutral." Citi cites increasing clarity over regulations and licenses in Macau as well as an attractive valuation.
Li Auto – Li Auto rallied 5.4% in premarket trading after the China-based electric vehicle maker reported 31,716 vehicles deliveries in March, more than double the year-ago total.
Nio – The China-based electric vehicle company Nio reported deliveries of 9,985 vehicles in March, an increase of 37.6% from a year ago. Nio shares jumped 6.2% in premarket trading.
Hycroft Mining – The small-cap mining company – best known for an investment from movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (AMC) – added 2.2% in the premarket after reporting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss. AMC shares rallied 4.6%.
Poshmark – The online clothing marketplace operator's stock slid 2.2% in premarket trading after Stifel cut its rating to "hold" from "buy." Stifel said the company faces numerous growth challenges despite healthy profit potential and a highly engaged user base.
Market News
Chinese authorities are preparing to give U.S. regulators full access to auditing reports of the majority of the 200-plus companies listed in New York as soon as mid-this year, making a rare concession to prevent a further decoupling between the world’s two largest economies.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission and other national regulators are in the process of drafting a framework that will allow most Chinese firms to keep their listings, people familiar with the process said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter. However, the government is prepared to accept that some state-owned enterprises and private companies that hold sensitive data will be delisted, they said.
Video game retailer GameStop Corp said on Thursday it would seek shareholder approval for a stock split, aiming to become the latest U.S. company to make it easier for retail investors to own its shares.
Chinese electric vehicle start-ups Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto delivered more cars in March than February even as they faced a number of challenges in the last few weeks.