The Market In 5 Minutes: Unemployment Rate A Tick Higher

Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.

Macro Focus

Wall Street stocks were set to open moderately lower, as investors held back from big bets ahead of jobs data that could help decide whether the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates later this year. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 23 points to 18,176.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 4.25 points to 2,152.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 9 points to 4,863.00.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures gained 0.15 percent to trade at $52.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.38 percent to trade at $50.63 a barrel.

The British pound suffered its most drastic selloff since the Brexit vote Thursday evening and fell more than 6 percent in just one minute. The British pound nosedived to as low as $1.1841 from $1.26 around the time Asian markets opened for trading. Some reports attribute the plunge to comments made by France's President Francois Hollande, who hinted that his government is committed towards playing hardball in any Brexit negotiation.

Nonfarm Payrolls for Sep 156.0K vs 175.0K Est.. Private Payrolls for Sep 167.0K vs 170.0K Est. Unemployment Rate 5% vs 4.9% Est.

• Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer is set speak in Washington DC at 10:30 a.m. ET.
• Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester will speak in New York at 12:45 p.m. ET.
• The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
• Kansas City Fed's Esther George is set to speak in Washington DC at 3:00 p.m. ET.
• Data on consumer credit for August will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
• Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard will speak in Washington DC at 4:00 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

• Ruby Tuesday RT Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $(0.11) vs $(0.03) in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $256.7M
• Helen Of Troy HELE Reports Q2 EPS $1.31 vs. Prior Year Quarter $1.12, Rev. $368.17M vs. Prior Year Quarter $369.12M
• Mistras Group MG Reports Q1 EPS $0.22 vs $0.23 in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $168.443M

Sell-Side Themes

Goldman Sachs downgraded First Solar FSLR and SolarEdge SEDG and upgraded Sunrun RUN.

Wedbush started coverage on several banks with a Neutral rating.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• Pivotal downgraded Tyson Foods TSN to Sell.
• Deutsche Bank upgrades Gap GPS to Hold.
• Goldman Sachs started GW Pharma GWPH at Buy.

Deal Talk

Shares of Qualcomm QCOMand NXP Semiconductors NXPI spiked higher Thursday, on a report from Bloomberg of progress toward a potential takeover of NXP by Qualcomm. Sources say the deal would be 75 percent cash and 25 percent in stock.

Whole Foods WFM spiked higher on unconfirmed market chatter of a potential $40 per share bid from Kroger KR. Whole Foods is a frequent takeover name, with Publix mentioned on several occasions as a potential suitor.

In The News

"If Prime Minister Theresa May gets her way on immigration, Victor Villar says he might just leave London," says Bloomberg. "The 31-year-old Mexican portfolio analytics consultant is among the many foreigners in the City who are reeling from the government’s proposal to force companies to reveal how many non-British workers they hire as a way to push them to put natives first."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a surprise triumph coming only days after his bid to end a 50-year civil war was rejected by his country's voters.

Blogosphere

Index Front Running: What Happens When a Stock is Added to an Index?

Trending

AUPH AA HD OPK JNUG AOS BAC CIT GWPH UVE ACIA GPS MACK WMT

Hurricane Matthew is threatening to be a bigger issue than previously forecast. Whenever any tropical storm threatens the mainland, airlines and insurance sectors are typically the worst hit, stock-wise. However, theme park operators seemed to have underestimated the potential damages it could bring.

Guess This Chart

• This company reports earnings on Tuesday, and is typically known as the unofficial start of earnings season.
• Earlier this week they underwent a 1-for-3 reverse stock split.
• Sympathy plays include Kaiser Aluminum KALU and Aluminum Corp. of China.