It won't be easy for stocks to keep rising after a four-day stretch in which the S&P 500 has gained 4.9% -- and after soft guidance from market heavyweight Apple. S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% at 6:15 a.m. Eastern.
Economists at Goldman Sachs have their estimates perched slightly higher than consensus, with the investment bank calling for 195,000 jobs gained and a slight decline in the jobless rate to 3.7%, though the Goldman team only expect a 0.2% gain in average hourly earnings. Looking at big employment indicators from ADP, Census and Homebase suggest another month of strong jobs growth, even assuming a 30,000 drag from the auto strikes, the Goldman team says.