US futures slide on focus on jobs report, await Middle East moves

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday as attention temporarily turned to the economy and the monthly jobs report. Meanwhile, worries about the conflict in the Middle East rumbled in the background.

S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell 0.3%, while contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were down about 0.4%. All three gauges closed slightly above the flat line on Wednesday.

Some calm returned to a market shaken by escalating tensions in the Middle East, which sent oil prices soaring. Israel has yet to launch its promised retaliation to Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday, amid efforts by Western and regional leaders to stabilize the situation.

Investors are now gearing up for the highly-anticipated September jobs report on Friday after a surprise rise in private payrolls came alongside signs the labor market is weakening. The focus is whether the data reinforces the steady cooling trend or shows signs of cracks.

Any further signs of deterioration could prompt the Federal Reserve to follow up on last month’s 0.5% interest rate cut with another jumbo move, despite policymakers’ expectations for a 0.25% cut in November. Stocks rose in September as the market celebrated the central bank’s aggressive pivot to easing.

Read more: What Fed rate cuts mean for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards

Readings on weekly jobless claims and the services sector due on Thursday will weigh in for more clues.

Meanwhile, the Israel-Iran crisis helped push oil prices higher for a third day, another potential drag on economic activity. Brent (BZ=F) and West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude futures were both up more than 1% on Thursday.

On the corporate front, Levi Strauss ( LEVI ) shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading after the jeans giant posted a disappointing revenue forecast and said it was considering selling its Dockers brand. Tesla ( TSLA ) stock continued to fall on weak delivery numbers as Reuters reported that the electric vehicle maker halted online orders in the US for its cheapest Model 3.