Trading is cautious ahead of the month’s most important indicator. Equities jumped more than 2% on Thursday on optimism for the labor market and positive earnings from blue-chip companies, but sentiment is more cautious in the final hour before nonfarm payrolls.
Dow Futures continue to dance around the 10k level while S&P 500 futures trade half a point higher at 1,064. WTI crude is back below the $80 per barrel mark, but Spot Gold is up more than $3 to $1,093.38. Meanwhile, the dollar is weaker against the yen, euro, and Aussie dollar, but stronger against the Canadian loonie.
Outside of markets the news is that Fannie Mae has asked for a fourth dose of bailout funds from the government. The government-sponsored mortgage lender announced losses of $19 billion from July to September, and requested $15 billion to fill the hole.
“The losses stemmed from the increased costs of buying up bad mortgage-backed loans as part of the government's efforts to support the housing market,” said the BBC. “It said it would use additional government aid to cover future losses on bad mortgage loans, as well as helping to cover its third-quarter losses.”
With its cousin Freddie Mac, the two organizations have now asked for more than $100 billion in taxpayer aid.
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