5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

Stock futures were down Friday morning, as Wall Street awaits the release of May’s jobs report. On Thursday, all three major U.S. stock indexes posted strong gains, snapping two-day losing streaks and putting them in positive territory for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 435 points, or 1.3%, after being down more than 300 points at session lows. The S&P 500 added 1.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 2.7%.

The major indexes have not recorded back-to-back positive weeks in about two months, as investors monitor a number of challenges including high inflation and the Federal Reserve’s response to it, recession fears and the Russia-Ukraine war. However, stocks have moved solidly off their lows of the year, hit on May 20. The Nasdaq is up 11.6%, while the S&P 500 and Dow are up 9.6% and 8.5%, respectively.

The U.S. economy is expected to have added 328,000 jobs in May, according to economists polled by Dow Jones. That would represent a slowdown compared with April’s nonfarm payrolls report, which showed 428,000 jobs added in the month. However, some economists told CNBC ahead of May’s data that they believe the labor market is still strong despite pockets of weakness in some parts of the economy. The unemployment rate is seen falling to 3.5% in May, down slightly from 3.6% in April, according to Dow Jones estimates. Wage increases are expected to come in at 5.2% year over year, compared with a 5.4% gain in April.

Wall Street is closely anticipating May’s jobs data, which the Labor Department is scheduled to release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. In particular, investors are looking for any signs of labor market weakness, as the Fed raises interest rates to tamp down hot inflation. The job market has been exceptionally tight in recent months, with the number of vacant positions vastly outnumbering available workers.

Shares of Tesla dropped nearly 3% in premarket trading Friday, as Reuters reported CEO Elon Musk wants to reduce head count at the electric vehicle maker. According to the report, Musk wrote in a brief email to Tesla executives that he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants to cut jobs at the company by 10%. The email was sent Thursday and titled “pause all hiring worldwide,” Reuters said. Earlier this week, Musk told Tesla employees they need to return to their respective offices at least 40 hours a week or leave the company instead. Tesla has faced Covid-related challenges in China recently, a key market for the EV company, prompting some Wall Street analysts to lower their vehicle delivery estimates.

OPEC and its oil-producing allies on Thursday reached a larger-than-expected production increase for July and August. The group, known as OPEC+, will raise output by 648,000 barrels per day in both July and August, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to disrupt the world’s energy markets. OPEC+ had initially intended to raise production by 432,000 barrels per day in those two months. Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Thursday, but were slightly lower Friday morning. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude traded around $116.20 per barrel, down about 0.6%. International benchmark Brent crude was down about 0.5% at $117 per barrel. Crude prices have soared this year, as Western sanctions on Russian oil have exacerbated existing supply and demand imbalances.

Coinbase is extending its hiring freeze “for the foreseeable future” and will rescind some existing job offers, the cryptocurrency exchange said Thursday. “After assessing our business priorities, current headcount, and open roles, we have decided to pause hiring for as long as this macro environment requires,” an executive wrote in a blog post. Coinbase had been one of the highest-flying tech stocks last year after its public market debut, but its shares are down more than 70% year to date. Investors have rotated away from more speculative growth stocks toward defensive parts of the market. Coinbase also has been hit hard by the drop in cryptocurrency prices this year, leading to a slowdown in its own revenue growth.

On Thursday, Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by longtime bitcoin boosters Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss said it is laying off 10% of its workforce. The digital asset industry has entered a contraction phase known as a “crypto winter,” the Winklevoss twins wrote.

— Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer’s every stock move. Follow the broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.