Analysts forecast Friday’s jobs report that the U.S. economy added 55,000 jobs last month. The report will be analyzed in terms of whether it boosts the odds of additional Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4 percent at 48,814.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 6,916.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 23,490.99.
Both the Dow and the S&P fell on Wednesday, retreating from records hit in the previous session as other US data painted a mixed picture of the employment outlook.
Earnings season is set to begin next week with results from Delta Air Lines and major US banks including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.
According to Sam Stovall of CFRA Research, analysts had estimated seven percent earnings growth for the period.
“Earnings are expected to be very strong,” Stovall said.
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