U.S. stock futures edge lower before payrolls report

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged lower Thursday heading into the extended weekend with attention turning to the payrolls report for clues on whether the economy can continue to mend.

S&P 500 futures fell 3.9 points to 915.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 5.5 points to 1,473.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28 points.

Data on manufacturing and housing as well as upbeat General Mills results helped U.S. stocks rise on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 57 points, the Nasdaq Composite rising 10 points and the S&P 500 adding 4 points.

Thursday's focus will turn to a swath of data, including the key nonfarm payrolls report.

The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists surveyed by MarketWatch is for 325,000 job losses in June.

The unemployment rate also is expected to rise, to 9.6% in June from 9.4% the prior month. The Labor Department will announce the figures at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

"The underlying story, we think, is that the pace of gross hiring dropped faster than the pace of gross firings, or jobless claims, rose in the months after [the] Lehman [bankruptcy,]" said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a note to clients.

"Now that the immediate post-Lehman panic is over, we think the pace of gross hiring is returning to a more sustainable trend, so payrolls are reverting to a pace consistent with the claims numbers."

Also on tap will be weekly jobless claims and, shortly after the open, factory orders for May.

Data released in Europe showed the euro-area unemployment rate in May climbing to 9.5% from 9.3% -- one reason the European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates at 1%. The ECB decision is due at 7: 45 a.m. Eastern, followed by a press conference at 8:30 a.m.