Wall Street Set to Open Lower Friday; Employment Growth Tops Forecasts

US stocks looked set to open lower Friday as investors parsed strong employment data and awaited reports on University of Michigan consumer sentiment and the Baker Hughes North American rig count.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.5% lower.

Oil prices were moving sharply higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude surging 2.16% and 2.15% respectively.

Nonfarm payroll growth in November came in at 199,000, from 150,000 in October and ahead of the consensus forecast of 180,000, according to Econoday. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4%, ahead of the consensus forecast of 0.3%, for an annual rate of 4.0%, which met the consensus forecast. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for November was 3.7%, down from 3.9% the previous month and below the consensus forecast of 3.9%.

Consumer sentiment is expected to rise slightly to 61.9 in December from 61.3 in November, while inflation expectations for the coming year are expected to decrease to 4.2% from 4.5%.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.68%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.07%, and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.11%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.40%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC rose 0.40% and 0.96% respectively.

On the winning side, shares of MBIA jumped 62% in Friday's premarket session after the company declared an extraordinary dividend Thursday of $8 per share. Exicure shares advanced 52%, adding to a nearly 6% gain the previous session. Shares of Volato Group rose 36% after a 21% loss Thursday. Intelligent Living Application Group shares gained 7%, adding to a 1% gain Thursday. And shares of Torrid Holdings climbed 24% after analysts at Telsey Advisory Group more than doubled their price target on the stock to $5 From $2,

On the losing side, shares of Cyngn plunged 47% after soaring 64% Thursday when it said it received a new patent for its autonomous vehicle and driving technology. Troika Media Group shares decreased 24%, a day after saying it was notified by Nasdaq that it will suspend the company's securities and delist them Dec. 18. HashiCorp shed 24% after Chief Executive Officer David McJannet disclosed the sale of 200,000 of the company's shares. Applied UV shares tumbled 19% after announcing a 1-for-25 reverse stock split of its common shares. And shares of Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc. dropped 17% adding to a 1% loss on Thursday.