US futures edge lower; jobs data eyed

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to modestly lower opening on Friday ahead of key U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data from the government.

Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.14 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.11 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are down 0.03 percent.

Investors are eagerly waiting for the government's monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which is the most closely-watched economic data pertaining to the jobs market and is a key gauge for the direction and pace of the economic recovery.

The median forecast for the non-farm payrolls is a gain of 140,000 jobs in November, compared with a gain of 151,000 jobs in the previous month, while unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 9.6 percent for the third straight month.

Recent reports from the labor market are suggesting that conditions have improved greatly in the past two months, but still the U.S. labor market is far below from its pre-crisis level as the current unemployment rate still above 9.5 percent levels compared to the range of 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent which was set before crisis.

Other economic data including ISM Non-manufacturing index and monthly factory orders data are due to be released after the markets open.

US stocks rallied for a second straight session on Thursday as traders' sentiment was buoyed by some strong November chain-store retail sales figures and by the European Central Bank (ECB) to maintain liquidity safety measures for troubled banks.

The euro advanced 0.12 percent to 1.3224 against the dollar and the yen gained 0.19 percent against the greenback.

Crude oil futures declined 0.41 percent to $87.64/barrel and gold futures advanced 0.31 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading in tight range with FTSE 100 down by 0.98 points and DAX30 down by 5.63 points, while CAC 40 up by 14.10 points.