Positive light in the corporate earnings arena looks to have bolstered US premarket futures higher, ahead of the New York open, as investors await today’s latest batch of American jobs data – which will test the outlook for the US economy as Wall Street nears new record levels.

Following Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell’s, somewhat assuring stance that officials are “comfortable” with current policy, investors are now searching for new economic stability gauges, after recent manufacturing data from both China and America had signalled fragile global growth.

Clues relating to the health of the economic expansion may come as early as today with the monthly US employment reports scheduled for release before market open, at 8:30am EST.

These early morning developments come after yesterday’s session, where Wall Street tracked lower, extending its reaction to the Federal Reserve’s stop short of a rate cut, a day after the S&P recorded its worst day since March in the wake of the Fed comments.

After speculation that the US central bank could point towards such a move, Mr. Powell said: “We do think our policy stance is appropriate right now – we don’t see a strong case for moving in either direction” as “solid fundamentals” were supporting the economy.

The session concluded with all three major indices lower (SPY, -0.22%, QQQ: -0.43%, DIA: -0.48%), as yesterday’s monetary policy catalysts compounded upon a more recent slump in Energy shares (-1.74%), which declined as oil prices retreated on signs of robust stockpiles.

Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Friday includes; US Unemployment Rate and Nonfarm Payroll reports for April at 8:30am EST, followed by ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI data for April at 10:00am EST.

In corporate news; Newell Brands (NWL), Dominion Energy (D) and DISH Network (DISH) are amongst the major companies scheduled to report their financials before the weekend.

TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES
China & Trade: Temptation to ‘game the system’ could derail US-China trade deal, says former American official. (CNBC)
A trade deal between the United States and China, which may be just around the corner, could be derailed by a “temptation to game the system,” a former US diplomat and ambassador told CNBC on Friday.

Energy & Oil: Iran’s Oil Minister Warns That OPEC Collapse Is Likely. (Bloomberg)
Iran’s oil minister warned that OPEC is in danger of collapse as some nations seek to undermine their fellow members, an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia’s pledge to fill the supply gap created by US sanctions on Iranian exports.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today’s Economical Announcements.

08:30AM – ★☆☆ – Wholesale Inventories (MoM) (Previous: 0.2%)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Goods Trade Balance (Mar) (Previous: -79.49B)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Average Hourly Earnings (Apr) (Previous: 0.1%)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Nonfarm Payrolls (Apr) (Previous: 196,000)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Unemployment Rate (Apr) (Previous: 3.8%)
10:00AM – ★★★ – ISM Non-Manuf. PMI (Apr) (Previous: 56.1)

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

Weight Watchers (WW): [EARNINGS] Lost 9 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the 26 cents a share loss that Wall Street was expecting. Revenue was below estimates. Weight Watchers saw a 1% rise in subscribership compared to a year earlier.

Shake Shack (SHAK): [EARNINGS] Matched analysts’ forecasts with quarterly profit of 13 cents per share, while revenue topped estimates as same-restaurant sales increased 3.6% during the quarter.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 31 cents per share, 6 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped forecasts. Activision issued weaker-than-expected current-quarter guidance, however, as it invests more money in its franchises to battle competitors like “Fortnite.”

Newell Brands (NWL): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 14 cents per share, 8 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts, driven by a strong performance in Newell’s writing brands like Paper Mate and Sharpie. Newell did, however, give current-quarter earnings forecast that was shy of consensus.

Expedia (EXPE): [EARNINGS] Lost 27 cents per share for its latest quarter, 11 cents a share less than Wall Street was expecting. The travel website operator saw revenue come in below estimates, as did a 9% increase in room nights booked via Expedia.

Amazon.com (AMZN): [NEWS] Warren Buffett said that Berkshire has been buying shares of Amazon.

Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI): [NEWS] Will buy 21 regional sports networks from Walt Disney (DIS) in a deal valued at more than $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, with the deal set to be announced as early as today.

Tesla (TSLA): [NEWS] Increased the size of a proposed capital raise, upping the number of shares to be issued as well as the amount of convertible bonds to be offered. A new Securities and Exchange Commission filing said CEO Elon Musk would buy $25 million of those shares, compared to $10 million detailed in a Thursday filing.

Boeing (BA): [NEWS] Boeing limited input from its test pilots on the flight control systems for the now-grounded 737 Max jet fleet, contrary to established procedure.

Marriott (MAR): [NEWS] CEO Arne Sorenson has been diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer. Sorenson said the cancer was discovered early and does not appear to have spread, and he will continue in his job while being treated.

Dish Network (DISH): [EARNINGS] Fell a penny a share shy of estimates, with quarterly profit of 65 cents per share. Revenue was essentially in line with expectations. Dish experienced a loss of 259,000 net subscribers during the quarter.

CBS (CBS): [EARNINGS] Came in a penny a share ahead of estimates, with quarterly earnings of $1.37 per share. The media company’s revenue missed forecasts, however, on weaker results from content licensing and distribution.

Gilead Sciences (GILD): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.76 per share, 15 cents a share higher than estimates. Revenue was below forecasts. The bottom line was helped by strong sales of new HIV drug Biktarvy, as well as lower-than-expected research and development costs.

Facebook (FB): [NEWS] Facebook is recruiting partners for the possible launch of a cryptocurrency-based payments system, according to The Wall Street Journal.

GoDaddy (GDDY): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly profit of 7 cents per share, missing the consensus estimate of 10 cents a share. Revenue also missed forecasts, hurt by rising costs and slower customer growth.

Verizon (VZ): [NEWS] Verizon is seeking a buyer for its Tumblr blogging service, according to The Wall Street Journal. Tumblr was among the assets Verizon acquired when it bought Yahoo in 2017.

MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: AYX, TPX, AGCO, INN, PCRX,  GLDD, GDI
DECLINERS: RLGY, IRWD, THS, ARW, WLK, PDCE, OI, SQ, CTSH

TODAY’S IPOs
Red River Bancshares (RRBI) (Low: 42, High: 46) (Est. Vol: $26.4M)
SciPlay (SCPL) (Price: 16) (Est. Vol: $352.0M)
Trevi Therapeutics (TRVI) (Low: 14, High: 16) (Est. Vol: $70.0M)
Yunji (YJ) (Low: 11, High: 13) (Est. Vol: $162.0M)