US stock index futures fluctuate close to zero before jobs data

U.S. stock-index futures remain almost unchanged similar to yesterday levels as investors awaited employment data to define the possible timing of a cut in Federal Reserve bond purchases.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December slipped less than 0.1% to 1,737.4 at 7:47 a.m. in New York after the gauge closed at a record yesterday. The S&P 500 had its best weekly gain since July last week as results from Google Inc. topped estimates and speculation grew that the Fed will maintain its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases to stimulate the economy. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 points, or less than 0.1%, to 15,327 today.

“The concerns have shifted for a taper in March,” Luca Paolini, who helps oversee about $66 billion in equities as chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management Ltd. in London, said by telephone for Bloomberg. “Any jobs number that is very strong may put the focus on the Fed again. Some investors may be tempted to take profits after a very strong number. If the number is on the weaker side, a lot of other indicators on the job market are still pretty solid.” she added.

In corporate news, VMware Inc. rose 13% to $93 pre-trade as the biggest maker of software that lets computers run different operating systems reported third-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ projections.

Whirlpool Corp. could be active on the market. The world’s largest appliance maker lifted its forecast for earnings this year to as much as $10.10 a share from an earlier estimate of no more than $10. That compared with the analyst estimate of $9.97.

Forest Oil lost 2.9% to $5.31 in pre-market New York trading. Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation on the Denver-based energy company to sell from neutral, citing limited future gains from its holdings in the Eagle Ford region, and its unattractive valuation relative to its peers.