US stock-index futures ticked higher, Friday morning, as US and China vice ministers announced new economic stimulus measures ahead of trade talks between Washington and Beijing, while the House of Representatives passed legislation in an effort to end the government shutdown – both of which investors hope will brighten sentiment following a bruising first week of the year.

This morning’s advance comes in defiance of Thursday’s retreat, where a sales warning from Apple (AAPL: -9.96%) and a weaker-than-expected reading on manufacturing activity caused investors to fret over global economic growth.

The S&P 500 slipped and fell -2.5%, to close near session lows, weighed most heavily by Technology (-5%), Industrial (-3%) and Material (-2.84%) sectors – shares of Real Estate (+0.64%) were considered a safer bet, the sector recording gains.

All major market indices ended deep in the red with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged -2.85%, the Nasdaq Composite dipped -3.27%, drawing the end of a five-day winning streak.

During today’s session investors are likely to track political developments in regards to The House of Representatives’ bill that would end a partial government shutdown, which has seen workers on leave or working without pay.

In economic data, market participants will be monitoring key data releases, with Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment data set to both be released at 8:30am EST, followed by PMI figures at 9:45am EST.

In corporate news, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW), RPM International (RPM), AngioDynamics (ANGO) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) will be reporting their financial results before the opening bell.

TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES:

Politics: House Passes Spending Package in Bid to End Shutdown. (The WSJ)
House Democrats passed a spending package aimed at reopening the federal government, defying President Trump’s demands for border-wall funding on their first day in power.

Trade: US and China to hold governmental trade talks in Beijing. (CNBC)
China and the United States will hold vice-ministerial level trade talks in Beijing on Jan 7-8, as the two sides look to end a dispute that is inflicting increasing pain on both economies and roiling global financial markets.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Today’s Economical Announcements

08:30AM – ★★☆ – Average Earnings (YoY) (Dec) (Previous: 3.1%)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Average Earnings (MoM) (Dec) (Previous: 0.2%)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Nonfarm Payrolls (Dec) (Previous: 155K)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Unemployment Rate (Dec) (Previous: 3.7%)
09:45AM – ★★☆ – Markit Composite PMI (Dec) (Previous: 54.7)
09:45AM – ★★☆ – Services PMI (Dec) (Previous: 53.4)
10:15AM – ★★★ – Fed Chair Powell Speaks
11:00AM – ★★★ – Crude Oil Inventories (Previous: -0.046M)

STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks

Intel (INTC): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Merrill also raised its price target on Intel to $60 from $52.

Netflix (NFLX): [REVIEW] Goldman Sachs added Netflix to its “conviction buy” list, calling it “one of the best risk/reward propositions in the Internet sector.

Square (SQ): [NEWS] Announced it has hired Amrita Ahuja as its new CFO.

Tesla (TSLA): [NEWS] The electric car maker said it plans to start delivering the Model 3 to its China customers in March. Tesla shares rose more than 2 percent in the premarket.

Regeneron (REGN): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to buy from neutral at Guggenheim Partners.

Southwest Airlines (LUV): [NEWS] Founder and chairman emeritus Herbert Kelleher died at the age of 87, the company announced Thursday. Kelleher founded Southwest in 1967.

United Technologies (UTX): [DOWNGRADE] RBC downgraded the Dow member to “sector perform” from “outperform,” citing limited upside moving forward.

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS): [DOWNGRADE] Nomura Instinet downgraded Skyworks to “neutral” from “buy” and slashed its price target to $70 a share from $100.

MOMENTUM STOCKS:

GAINERS: –
LOSERS: BMY, OLED, SWKS, AAPL, QRVO, DAL

TODAY’S IPOs:

None.