The market mood is positive this morning and U.S. stock futures are rising.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Waiting for Friday’s jobs report
1. Waiting for Friday’s jobs report
The U.S. Labor Department will report how many jobs the nation created in July at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The report reflects the health of the labor market and the broader economy, and is closely watched by investors.
Economists predict 182,000 jobs were added last month, with unemployment dipping to 4.8% from 4.9%. The U.S. has gained over 1 million jobs so far this year, but the rate of job creation has been slower than in 2015.
Many economists believe that as unemployment falls, and wages pick up, job growth will slow.
2. USD slips ahead of NFP
2. USD slips ahead of NFP
The dollar edged lower against other major currencies on Friday, as investors remained cautious following Thursday’s mixed U.S. data and ahead of an upcoming employment report.
The greenback has come under pressure amid diminished expectations for another rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) this year after last week’s surprisingly weak data on U.S. second quarter growth.
Fed fund futures discounted only a 9% chance for a rate hike in September as of the close of trade on Thursday with the odds for an end-of-the-year hike at 32.1%.
3. Gold rising before the announcement
3. Gold rising before the announcement
Gold prices rose to four-week highs on Friday, as the Bank of England’s decision to lower interest rates continued to support and as investors eyed the release of key U.S. employment data due later in the day.
4. Global market overview and recap
4. Global market overview and recap
Stock investors seem to be in a cheery mood right now.
European markets are all rising in early trading while most Asian markets ended the day with gains.
But one firm bucking the trend and heading south is the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The British bank reported a £2 billion ($2.6 billion) loss in the first six months of the year. Shares in the bank have plunged by nearly 40% since the start of 2016, in part due to concerns about how the U.K.'s Brexit vote could hurt the British banking sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 ended the trading day unchanged on Thursday after experiencing some minor bumps and jumps earlier in the week.
The Nasdaq added 0.1%. The index would have to rise just 66 more points to surpass the all-time high it set last summer when it reached 5,232.
