The New York Stock Exchange is set to open lower on Friday morning, as the better-than-expected number of jobs created in the US in December has cast doubt on the Federal Reserve's expectations of rate cuts.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on New York indices lost between 0.9% and 1.1%, heralding a session start in the red.

According to official statistics published this morning, the US economy created 256,000 non-farm jobs last month, whereas economists were expecting only 170,000.000 non-agricultural jobs last month, compared with economists' forecasts of just 170,000.

These data could prompt the Federal Reserve to take a wait-and-see approach to rate cuts.

While a majority of investors previously expected the Fed to cut rates in June, the probability of further monetary easing this summer is now estimated at just 42%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch barometer.

The probability of a 'status quo' easing is now estimated at nearly 44%.

The prospect of the Fed cutting rates more slowly than previously anticipated logically favors a rise in US government bond yields.

Ten-year Treasury yields rose to over 4.78%, returning to their highest level since October 2023.

By reducing the likelihood of a sharp rate cut in the months ahead, the monthly US employment figures gave the dollar a boost.

The euro fell back to around 1.0250 against the greenback, its lowest level since November 2022.

Oil prices are heading for a third consecutive week of gains, buoyed by signs of vigorous activity, which are taking precedence over fears about interest rate trends.

The February contract for WTI climbed almost 4% to $76.9 a barrel.

For the week as a whole, currently reduced to three sessions due to the Jimmy Carter tribute day, the Dow Jones is down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq is down 0.7%.

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