Stock Market Today: Stocks steady, Treasury yields nudge higher ahead of jobs report

U.S. equity futures were little-changed in early Friday trading, while Treasury yields steadied and the dollar edged higher as investors around the world braced for a crucial September jobs report.  

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is likely to report that around 170,000 new jobs were added to the economy last month, with only modest increases in average hourly wages, as the labor market holds steady into the autumn months amid a resilient broader economy. 

That strength has sparked renewed inflation concerns, which, alongside signals of 'higher-for-longer' interest rates from the Federal Reserve and the ongoing political and fiscal chaos in Washington, triggered a sharp move higher in Treasury yields.

Surging Treasury bond yields, which have added around 55 basis points to benchmark 10-year notes over the past five weeks, have in turn rattled global markets and pushed the S&P 500 into its longest weekly losing streak since May of 2022. 

A softer-than-expected jobs report today could ease some of those concerns, and dovetail with recent comments from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly that higher bond yields are negating the need for another rate hike as the economy, though solid, shows signs of slowing over the coming months. 

Benchmark 10-year notes were last pegged at 4.752% in overnight trading, down from the 2007 high of 4.832% earlier this week, with 2-year notes changing hands at 5.039%

In other markets, global oils prices were flat in the overnight session, but largely on pace for another weekly decline and their longest losing streak since March following a the Energy Department's report of a surprise build-up in gasoline stocks earlier this week.

With oil nearing the $100 mark late last month, but overall energy demand looking to fade as Europe faces recession and China growth sputters, the prices for crude, compared to their underlying products, appeared to high for traders and were quickly reversed this week.

Brent crude contacts for December delivery, the global pricing benchmark, were last seen 9 cents lower at $84.00 per barrel while WTI contracts for November, which are tightly-linked to U.S. gasoline prices, fell 1 cent to $82.30 per barrel.

Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 were indicating a 1 point opening bell gain while those linked to the Dow suggested a xxx point dip. The tech-focused Nasdaq was called 4 points higher.

In overseas markets, stocks were largely tracking U.S. equity futures ahead of the September jobs report, with Europe's region-wide Stoxx 600 rising 0.31% in early Frankfurt trading and Britain's FTSE 100 edging 0.16% higher in London.

Stocks in Asia were mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 ending 0.26% lower in the session, just shy of its four-month low, and China markets trading modestly higher following the return of trading from the Golden Week holiday celebrations.

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