By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Ruby Tuesday slumps after earnings

U.S. stock futures inched lower on Friday, as the upcoming jobs report seemed to discourage investors from making any big bets ahead of the open.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points, or 0.1%, to 19,811, while those for the S&P 500 index slipped 0.80 point to 2,263.50.

Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index rose 2.25 points to 4,964.25.

The small moves come after a choppy day on Wall Street on Thursday, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite nudged up for its first record close this year, according to FactSet data. But the S&P 500 and Dow average both closed lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-rally-hits-pause-ahead-of-key-jobs-figures-2017-01-05).

"Yesterday's volatility on Wall Street seems to be testament to the fact that the market is suffering from a degree of vertigo up at these dizzying levels," said Jamieson Blake, retail sales manager at ADS Securities, in a note.

As of Thursday's close, all three benchmarks were still set for weekly rises, with the Dow eyeing a 0.7% weekly climb, the S&P up 1.4% and the Nasdaq 2% higher.

Blake said Friday's trade looks headed for a softer start, though he noted the December nonfarm payrolls reading is set for release ahead of the opening bell.

"Critically here, another disappointing reading could have a more lasting effect on U.S. equities, finally calling time on the rally that has gripped the market since Donald Trump won the election almost two months ago," he added.

Economic docket: The nonfarm payrolls report for December is due for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast 180,000 new jobs were added to the economy in December. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 4.7% to 4.6%.

Read:Four things to watch in December jobs report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/four-things-to-watch-in-december-jobs-report-2017-01-05)

A disappointing jobs report could prompt the return of the dollar selloff, if it gives cause to dial back expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver three interest rate rises in 2017.

The greenback on Thursday dropped by the most since July 2016 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-slides-again-on-feds-considerable-uncertainty-about-trump-future-2017-01-05), extending a fall on Wednesday. That slide came after minutes from the Fed's December meeting pointed to a number of risks that could change the path of its policy.

The ICE Dollar Index rebounded slightly on Friday, rising 0.1% to 101.64 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-fights-back-after-worst-selloff-in-6-months-2017-01-06).

Investors will hear directly from Fed officials on Friday, with three speakers on tap. Chicago President Charles Evans will speak in Zurich, on a panel about central bank strategies in era of ultra-low interest rates, at 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time.

In Baltimore, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker will give speech on economic outlook to the Maryland Bankers Association at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Later, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan will speak on a panel on U.S. and global economic outlook sponsored by the National Association for Business Economics in Chicago at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Other economic releases are also due. The foreign trade balance data for November comes out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, while factory orders for the same month are slated for 10 a.m. Eastern.

See:

Movers and shakers: Shares of Amgen Inc.(AMGN) jumped 5.2% in premarket trade. The move came after a federal judge said rivals Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.(REGN) and Sanofi SA (SAN.FR) (SAN.FR) must pull their competing cholesterol drug Praluent off the market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amgen-shares-soar-as-judge-blocks-sales-of-regeneron-drug-2017-01-05) as a penalty in a patent lawsuit. U.S.-listed Sanofi shares lost 3.1% ahead of the bell.

Shares of Ruby Tuesday Inc.(RT) slid 15% in thin premarket trade after the restaurant chain late Thursday reported a wider second-quarter loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ruby-tuesday-shares-drop-on-wider-loss-revenue-decline-2017-01-05) following a double-digit drop in revenue.

Gap Inc.(GPS) rallied 8.6% after the retailer late Thursday reported growing holiday sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gap-shares-skyrocket-as-retailer-reports-rising-holiday-sales-2017-01-05).

Other markets:Stocks in Asia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-slips-as-yen-gains-against-dollar-2017-01-05) closed mostly lower, and European markets were covered in red (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-slip-in-countdown-to-us-jobs-report-2017-01-06) ahead of the U.S. data.

Gold prices pulled back after a three-day rally, while oil prices moved higher for a third straight day.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2017 07:03 ET (12:03 GMT)