Here are the top 5 things to know in the market on Friday, March 10:

1. February jobs report in spotlight

Friday’s major event for markets will arrive at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT) when the U.S. Labor Department will release its February nonfarm payrolls report.

The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 200,000, following an increase of 227,000 in January, the unemployment rate is forecast to dip by 0.1% to 4.7%, while average hourly earnings are expected to rise 0.3% after gaining 0.1% a month earlier.

Expectations will be high after the ADP’s own monthly report showed Wednesday that hiring had spiked last month with the economy creating no less than 298,000 jobs last month, its strongest reading in nearly 11 years.

2. Markets await employment report to cinch March rate hike

As market players wait on Friday for the latest employment report, previous data and hawkish words from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials have suggested that the numbers in the government data would have to be pretty dire to stop the U.S. central bank from moving ahead with the next phase of accommodative policy removal.

Markets are currently pricing in about an 89% chance of a hike for the March 15 announcement, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

Ahead of the release of the labor market report, odds passed the 50% threshold for a second policy tightening at the July meeting, while the probability that the Fed would comply with their December forecast of three hikes in 2017 stood at close to 63%.

3. Gold falls below $1,200 in biggest weekly drop in 3-months

The selloff in gold continued on Friday as expectations for a Fed rate hike dampened the appeal of the precious metal.

Friday’s drop took gold back below $1,200, extending this week’s slide to 3%, its biggest weekly drop since November.

The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.

Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange lost $6.75 cents, or 0.52%, to trade at $1,196.95 by 4:54AM ET (9:54GMT).

4. Oil struggles to recover $50

Crude prices rebounded on Friday after dropping to their lowest in more than three months the session before, pressured by concerns that a global supply glut is proving stubbornly persistent.

The barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil (WTI) fell below $50 on Thursday for the first since mid-December, when OPEC and other producers agreed to cut output.

WTI is on track for a 7% decline this week, the biggest weekly drop since early November. Brent is heading for a 6% fall, also the biggest since early November.

U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.87% to $49.71 at 4:56AM ET (8:56GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.71% to $52.56.

5. South Korean President ousted

South Korea’s Constitutional Court removed President Park Geun-hye from office on Friday over a graft scandal involving the country’s conglomerates at a time of rising tensions with North Korea and China.

Park becomes South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office, capping months of paralysis and turmoil over a corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung (KS:005930) conglomerate in jail.

The ruling means she must immediately leave the Blue House in Seoul and triggers a presidential election within 60 days.

Source – Investing.com

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