Investors are taking a wait and see attitude ahead of the government’s monthly employment report.
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Dow Jones futures were unchanged. The S&P 500 was lower by 0.08% and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.06%.
The February jobs report will be released Friday morning, before the start of trading. The Thomson Reuters estimate is for 200,000 nonfarm jobs to have been added to payrolls, with the unemployment rate falling a tick to 4%.
Stocks finished the Thursday session with gains, as President Trump signed off on tariffs, excluding Mexico and Canada, easing concerns about a trade war.
The Dow advanced 93 points, or 0.38% to 24,895. The S&P 500 rose 12 points, or 0.45% to 2,738. The Nasdaq gained 31 points, or 0.42% to 7,427.
The tariffs that Trump officially announced called for a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum.
Shares in Asia gained early after the news broke that North Korea extended an invitation to the U.S. for President Trump to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump accepted.
The news reduced tensions in the region. Japan’s Nikkei pared early gains to 0.3% higher, having been up as much as 2%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite was up by 0.14%.
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