Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, May 3:
1. Jobs report set to dominate trade
Market focus on Friday will center on the April jobs report at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), with a string of Federal Reserve policymakers also set to make remarks throughout the day.
Economists forecast the creation of 181,000 nonfarm jobs while the unemployment rate is expected to stay at 3.8%.
Wages are predicted to rise, with average hourly earnings climbing 0.3% for the month, pushing its year-over-year gain to 3.3%
On Wednesday the Federal Reserve pointed to the employment picture as one reason it can remain patient either way on rates, saying in its statement that job gains "have been solid, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low."
Analysts argue that an upbeat jobs report could drive the U.S. dollar higher. The greenback has been bid solidly since Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference on Wednesday, where he played down recent soft inflation data and said he saw no reason to cut interest rates.
Read more: Will U.S. Payrolls Drive Euro To 1.10? - Kathy Lien
Following the NFP release, Chicago Fed president Charles Evans will speak on global economies while a swarm of fellow policymakers - including Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, New York Fed chief John Williams, Fed governor Michelle Bowman, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard, San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly, Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan and the head of the Cleveland Fed Loretta Mester - will all participate in a panel on “Strategies for Monetary Policy” to be held in Stanford, California.
Although overshadowed by the jobs report, the Institute of Supply Management will also release its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for April at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
2. Stocks recover ahead of jobs data
U.S. futures pointed to a recovery on Wall Street after Thursday’s negative close as investors braced for the monthly employment report.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 77 points, or 0.3% by 5:32 AM ET (9:32 GMT), while S&P 500 futures rose 10 points, 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 40 points, or 0.5%.
European stocks moved higher nearing midday trade Friday, helped in part by strong earnings reports from German sportswear maker Adidas (DE:ADSGN) and Asia-focused lender HSBC.
Asian shares saw mixed trade on Friday in holiday-thinned trade with Chinese and Japanese markets closed for holidays.
3. Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway invests in Amazon
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said that his investing company Berkshire Hathaway finally bought shares in Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) for the first time.
Buffett indicated that the purchase was made by one of his investment managers, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, and said the details would be disclosed later this month in Berkshire's (NYSE:BRKa) quarterly report of its U.S. stock holdings.
Though Buffett has long praised the leadership of Amazon’s Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, the “sage of Omaha” took time to invest in the company’s shares.
"Yeah, I've been a fan, and I've been an idiot for not buying," Buffett told CNBC.
4. Facebook recruits partners to launch crypto payment app
Facbook (NASDAQ:FB) has stepped up the pace with its cryptocurrency-based payments system, recruiting dozens of financial firms and online merchants to help with the launch, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The news has helped lift (Bitcoin)to a six-month high against the dollar, even though there is no indication that the social media giant intends to involve it in its plans.
The code-named Project Libra has been underway for over a year and is based on a so-called stablecoin that users could use to make purchases on the social media’s platform and across the Internet, sources told the WSJ.
Facebook is reportedly looking for total investments of about $1 billion in order to damp volatility in its coin's value and has talked to such companies as Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and First Data Corp (NYSE:FDC) about the project, which could one day threaten the dominance of today's electronic payments giants.
5. Oil extends weekly losses to more than 2%
Oil extended weekly losses to more than 2% on Friday on concerns that rising U.S. output would begin to hit global markets.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 30 cents, or 0.5%, to $61.51 by 5:34 AM ET (9:34 GMT), while Brent oil traded down 53 cents, or 0.8%, to $71.22.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude production hit a record 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, an increase of around 2 million bpd from a year earlier.
The EIA also noted that U.S. crude exports broke through 3 million bpd for the first time this year, casting doubt on the durability of OPEC-led efforts to reduce a global supply glut and rebalance markets. Iran's oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh warned overnight that OPEC could collapse if other members (such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE) unilaterally raised their output to compensate for the loss of Iranian exports to the world market due to U.S. sanctions.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.