In overnight trading on Thursday, stock futures were mostly flat ahead of highly anticipated October jobs reports.

Futures of the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 24 points. S&P 500 futures were little changed and Nasdaq 100 futures were near the flatline.

Investors eagerly await the Friday release of nonfarm payroll numbers for October. Dow Jones estimates that 450,000 additional jobs will be created. The September report 194,000 additional jobsThis is far below the estimate of 500,000.

Chris Hussey from Goldman Sachs stated that tomorrow’s payroll numbers are even more crucial because it marks the first full month without federal enhanced unemployment benefit expiration. However, public health and labor demand have both improved.

Thursday’s regular trading session saw the S&P 500 gain 0.4% to close at a record high in its sixth-straight winning day. With 0.8% increase to record closing, the Nasdaq Composite recorded its ninth consecutive positive trading session. The Dow fell 33.35 points, bucking the trend.

The technology sector led the S&P 500, up 1.5% Thursday. The financial sector suffered a loss of 1.3%.

Market participants absorbed the Federal Reserve’s statement. plan to begin tapering its pandemic aidThe central bank is on track to complete its asset purchases by November 31, putting it on track for the middle of next fiscal year.

As a first, investors also got a Thursday labor market reading. jobless claims The total reached 269,000 in the last week. This is lower than what was expected and it’s also the lowest number of pandemic-era deaths.

All the major averages have been trending higher to close out this week. The Dow is up 0.9% on the week, while the S&P 500 is 1.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.9%.