Futures dip ahead of payrolls, business activity data

By Uday Sampath Kumar

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday, with investors awaiting data on non-farm payrolls and business activity to assess the extent of the economic hit from the coronavirus.

Wall Street gained about 2% on Thursday as oil soared on hints of a Saudi-Russia deal, but doubts returned on whether the rebound would last as demand tapers off due to the health crisis.

Walt Disney Co said on Thursday it would furlough some U.S. employees this month, while sources said luxury retailer Neiman Marcus was stepping up preparations to seek bankruptcy protection.

Data at 10 a.m. ET is expected to show a reading of ISM’s non-manufacturing activity index dropped to 44 in March from 57.3 in February.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

A closely-watched Labor Department employment report is expected to show the U.S. economy shed jobs in March, but it will likely not fully reflect the full extent of the layoffs as it covers data until March 12.

At 05:53 a.m. EDT, Dow e-minis <1YMcv1> were down 285 points, or 1.34%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 31.75 points, or 1.26% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 93.75 points, or 1.23%.

SPDR S&P 500 ETFs were down 1.2%.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> closed up 2.28% at 2,526.9 on Thursday.

(This story refiles to fix typo in headline)

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)