US Stock Futures Point To Lower Opening Friday

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Friday ahead of the anticipated Bureau of Labor Statistics' Nonfarm Payrolls report, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM)'s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report, and ADP's Personal Income report.

Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.50 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.70 percent. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.67 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on the Nonfarm Payrolls report, the ISM Manufacturing PMI report, and ADP's Personal Income report, which will be reported later Friday. The Nonfarm Payrolls report, which measures the change in the number of people who are employed during the previous month, excluding the farming industry, is likely to have expanded by 150,000 in May.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI, which rates the relative level of business conditions, including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries and inventories, is expected to decline to 54.0 in May from 54.8 in April. ADP's report on personal income, which measures the change in the total value of income received from all sources by consumers, is highly anticipated as well.

On Thursday, U.S. markets were down as investor confidence was dampened by disappointing economic data. The markets were dragged down as ADP's anticipated employment numbers were lower than expected and initial jobless claims moved surprisingly higher. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.21 percent, the S&P 500 Index declined 0.23 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.35 percent.

All major European indices were in the red Friday as the worrisome condition of Spain's banking sector added to the debt crisis looming over the euro zone. London's FTSE 100 index was down by 9.17 points, Germany's DAX fell by 104.06 points and France's CAC 40 declined by 32.19 points.

Asian markets fell Friday amid increasing concerns over the slowdown in economic growth in China as the country's manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in May compared to the previous month. Market sentiment was negative as data released Friday by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing showed that the country's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 50.4 in May, down from 53.3 in April.