07:38 AM EST, 11/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were lower before the open Friday amid continued weakness in tech shares, while investors digest fresh data pointing to a potential slowdown in the labor market.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.5%. The indexes closed Thursday in the red, with the Nasdaq finishing at its lowest level since Oct. 23.

Shares of several key tech names were down pre-bell after closing Thursday in the red. Nvidia ( NVDA ) decreased 0.7% following a 3.7% drop at the end of the previous trading session, while Amazon.com ( AMZN ) nudged 0.4% lower. Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) declined 0.5% and Microsoft ( MSFT ) moved down 0.3%.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) gained 0.7% early Friday as the electric vehicle maker's shareholders reportedly voted in favor of Chief Executive Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package. Airbnb ( ABNB ) and Monster Beverage ( MNST ) rose 4.5% and 3.2%, respectively, following their latest quarterly results.

The US federal government shutdown entered its 38th day on Friday. The shutdown is likely to delay the release of the key nonfarm payrolls report for last month, originally scheduled for today.

On Thursday, Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that US-based employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, up 183% sequentially and 175% annually. Employers have so far announced about 1.1 million job cuts this year, the highest year-to-date total since 2020, according to the global outplacement firm.

"There's broad evidence of a cooling in hiring and households remain nervous about job security," ING said in a Thursday report, adding that the labor market weakness will likely dampen inflation.

Treasury yields were mixed in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 0.4 basis points to 3.56% and the 10-year rate up 0.2 basis points to 4.1%.

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) , KKR (KKR), Duke Energy ( DUK ) , Fluor (FLR), Telephone and Data Systems ( TDS/PV ) , Six Flags Entertainment ( FUN ) and Wendy's (WEN) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Friday's economic calendar has the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for November at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is slated to speak at 7 am, while Fed Governor Stephen Miran speaks at 3 pm.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said Thursday that inflation in the US remains elevated, so monetary policy "should be leaning against it." Separately, Fed Governor Michael Barr reportedly said the central bank still has "some work to do" to bring inflation down to its 2% objective.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 0.9% to $59.99 a barrel before the opening bell. Gold traded up 0.4% at $4,008 per troy ounce, while bitcoin decreased 0.7% to $100,280.