Weak Jobs Report Weighs On Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are pointed lower, as stocks react to a disappointing nonfarm payrolls report. Specifically, the jobs report revealed 156,000 new positions in December, well short of the consensus estimate, with the unemployment rate edging up to 4.7%, as expected. Also on the data front, the U.S. trade deficit jumped nearly 7% to $45.2 billion, as imports reached their highest level in more than a year, threatening to put a damper on U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP), after yesterday's record closing high, is up once again ahead of the open.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
 

• 5 retail stocks at critical levels.
• Eleventh-hour option bulls bombarded Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
• Trepidation over a potential Trump tax change trounced this beverage stock.
• Plus... Gap signals a breakout, another department store in the dumps, and Illumina's pending spin-off.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are 15.3 points below fair value.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
  

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 692,416 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 478,639 put contracts. The resultant single-session equity put/call ratio jumped to 0.69, while the 21-day moving average held at 0.62.
2. Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) is bucking the bearish holiday sales trend. The apparel peddler reported December sales rose 3% year-over-year, and raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast, prompting price-target hikes at Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities. GPS shares are over 8% higher in electronic trading.
3. On the other hand, J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) is falling in line with its retail peers from yesterday, down 3.8% ahead of the open on a holiday flop, and putting the shares at risk of breaching this historical floor. Specifically, the department store said same-store sales dropped 0.8% year-over-year in November and December.
4. Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) is up 1.8% pre-market, after the genetic analysis specialist announced it will spin off Grail, a startup focused on early cancer detection via blood tests. ILMN will retain a 20% stake in the company, which intends to raise $1 billion in venture capital.
5. The week wraps up with factory order data. Plus, the central bank will be front and center, as Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan are due to speak. AngioDynamics (ANGO) is among a short list of companies set to report quarterly earnings.

Overseas Trading

It was a mixed session for Asian stocks, with Japanese automakers thrust into the spotlight thanks to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Specifically, Trump on Thursday tweeted that Toyota could face a border tax if it builds cars in Mexico that are sold in the U.S., pressuring shares of the Japanese auto stock and its peers. Meanwhile, the yen strengthened against the dollar, sending Japan's Nikkei down 0.3%. China's Shanghai Composite also closed lower -- falling 0.4% -- though Hong Kong's Hang Seng grabbed a 0.2% win. In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.4%, with an upbeat outlook boosting shares of tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics.

European stocks were last seen lower at midday, as caution set in ahead of today's jobs report out of the U.S. Meanwhile, retail sales for the eurozone fell in November, though the region's economic confidence index jumped more than expected in December. In Germany, manufacturing orders and retail sales dropped in November, pressuring the DAX down 0.2% at last check. Elsewhere, France's CAC 40 is off 0.4%, and London's FTSE 100 is 0.6% lower. 

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