US stocks set for further falls on Friday as investors await February non-farm payrolls report

US stocks were set for further falls on Friday as investors await the February non-farm payrolls report for fresh insights into the health of the US economy. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials Average pointed 0.3% lower, while those for the broader S&P 500 shed 0.4% - the S&P 500 is on track for its third week of declines having closed in Thursday at its lowest level since the end of January. Futures for technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 were the worst-off, however, down 0.6%, suggesting that the sector will continue to lead the retreat. Stocks have stumbled in recent weeks as a climb in bond yields has called into question whether low-interest rates, which propelled valuations higher for much of the past year, can continue for much longer the economy recovers from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes ticked up again Friday, to 1.557%, from 1.547% on Thursday,  the highest level for the benchmark borrowing cost since February last year. The latest climb in yields came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell provided no sign the central bank would seek to stem the rise when he spoke at The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit on Thursday February US jobs report, due to be released at 8.30am ET, is expected to show that the economy created 210,000 jobs last month. That would add to signs of a slow improvement in the labor market, after initial weekly jobless claims on Thursday reached their lowest level in three months. The jobs report may not sway bond yields much, however, because the data are unlikely to affect the progress of President Biden’s new stimulus package through the Senate or the roll=out of the coronavirus vaccine. Four things to watch on Friday: Oil prices rallied for a second day after OPEC and a Russia-led coalition of oil producers kept most of their production cuts in place, taking the market by surprise. Brent crude, the benchmark in international energy markets, rose 1.9% to $68.02 a barrel. Reddit, the social media platform at the heart of the recent retail stock trading frenzy, said on Friday it had appointed Drew Vollero as its first chief financial officer. Vollero, who served as Snap Inc’s first CFO and was a former executive of Mattel Inc, will lead Reddit’s finance team starting later this month and will report to Jen Wong, the company’s chief operating officer. Blockchain payments firm Ripple has not experienced any fallout in its Asia Pacific business after being sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company’s chief executive officer said on Friday. Texas’ power grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) made a $16 billion pricing error in the week of the winter storm that led to power outages across the state, Potomac Economics, which monitors the state’s power market, said.