(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, the economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.)

U.S. stock futures fell on Friday following Thursday’s negative close. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict.

The February U.S. employment report showed total nonfarm payrolls edged down by 92,000, falling short of the modest gains anticipated by economists. Despite the dip in payrolls, the unemployment rate held relatively steady at 4.4%. On the inflation front, average hourly earnings for private nonfarm workers rose by 0.4% to $37.32 in February, bringing the year-over-year increase to 3.8%.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.17%, and the two-year bond was at 3.61%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.31%
S&P 500	-0.41%
Nasdaq 100	-0.49%
Russell 2000	-0.48%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.56% at $677.44, while the QQQ declined 0.77% to $604.25.

Stocks In Focus

Costco Wholesale

• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 0.23% in premarket on Friday despite reporting better-than-expected financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 after the close on Thursday.

• COST maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Marvell Technology

• Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) jumped 11.92% after reporting strong fourth-quarter financial results for fiscal 2026 on Thursday. Its fourth-quarter revenue of $2.22 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRVL maintains a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking.

Gap

• Gap Inc. (NYSE:GAP) tumbled 7.06% after reporting worse-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and announcing a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization.

• GAP maintains a strong price trend in the long term but a weak trend in the short and medium terms, with a solid value score, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.

Oracle

• Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) was up 0.59% as it is reportedly planning thousands of job cuts, according to Bloomberg. The roles facing the ax are expected to shrink due to artificial intelligence.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ORCL maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium and long terms, with a weak value score.

Ford Motor

• Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) was up 0.081% despite recalling 1.74 million vehicles over a rearview camera defect.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that F maintains a weak price trend over the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term.

Cues From Last Session

Consumer staples, materials, and industrials stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday led most S&P 500 sectors to close on a negative note. However, energy and information technology stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Dow Jones	-1.61%	47,954.74
S&P 500	-0.56%	6,830.71
Nasdaq Composite	-0.26%	22,748.99
Russell 2000	-1.91%	2,585.57

Insights From Analysts

Senior Global Market Strategist Scott Wren anticipates a resilient U.S. economy and a broadening stock market throughout 2026. Despite recent volatility triggered by “unexpected events” in the Middle East, Wren advises investors to “look through the headlines, and stick to a well thought out plan.”

He expects market performance to continue expanding beyond mega-cap technology firms, noting that the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index recently hit record highs. Wren has upwardly revised his economic outlook, stating, “We expect the U.S. economy to grow 2.9%, up from the initial 2.4% projection.”

This growth is expected to drive a “fourth consecutive year of record earnings” for the S&P 500. To capitalize on this, he favors sectors like Financials, Industrials, and Utilities, which are positioned to benefit from a strengthening economy and “continued buildout of artificial intelligence (AI) related infrastructure.”

While acknowledging that markets often adopt a “shoot first and ask questions later mentality” regarding geopolitical news, Wren remains focused on a “global economic recovery this year that is led by the United States.”

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.

• Nonfarm Payrolls: Total nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 92,000 in February, a sharp reversal from the revised 126,000 jobs added in January.
• ​Unemployment Rate: The national unemployment rate changed little, settling at 4.4% for the month of February.
• ​Hourly Wages: Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $37.32.
• ​Annual Wage Growth: Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have seen a total increase of 3.8%.
• San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speak at 10:15 a.m., and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack will deliver remarks at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 3.76% to hover around $84.06 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.37% to hover around $5,099.92 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.12% higher at the 98.8850 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 2.77% lower at $70,567.62 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, as Australia's ASX 200 and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. China’s CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi indices rose. European markets were also mostly lower in early trade.

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