The U.S. jobs report will be the talk of the market today.
Here are the key things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:
1. The big jobs report: The U.S. government posted lower-than-expected job numbers for September, which has slammed market sentiment.
The U.S. economy only added 142,000 jobs in September and the number of jobs created in July and August were revised down.
Economists surveyed by CNNMoney had forecast that the economy would add 204,000 jobs in the month.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate stayed at 5.1%, its lowest level in 7 years.
The Fed has been widely expected to raise interest rates later this year, but Fed members have been delaying a hike as they wait for the job market to show some real strength. (Fears about a slowdown in China have also held them back too.)
Related: Unemployment is going down. So why aren't wages going up?
2. Stock market overview: U.S. stock futures dropped sharply after the release of the jobs report.
Most European markets are also declining.
Asian markets ended with mixed results
This follows a rather uninspiring Thursday when markets did a whole lotta nothing. The Dow Jones industrial average inched down 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each notched a 0.2% gain.
3. Potential market movers -- Micron, Wynn, T-Mobile, Experian: Shares in Micron Technology (MU) are rising by about 3% premarket after the semiconductor firm reported earnings late Thursday that topped expectations. This was encouraging for investors who have seen the shares plummet by nearly 60% this year.
Shares in Wynn Resorts (WYNN) have suffered a similar fate in 2015 on concerns about its business in Macau. The stock is rebounding by 7% premarket.
And watch trading in T-Mobile (TMUS) and Experian (EXPGY). Experian suffered a major data breach where hackers have made off with personal information of 15 million people who applied to sign up for T-Mobile's service. T-Mobile used Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, to conduct credit checks on its customers.
Shares in Experian are down by about 5% in London.
