Top 3 things you need to know about the market on Friday

1. NFP reports

All eyes will be on the US employment report in February, which will be released at 3:30 pm (GMT +2), with expectations for another solid month of growth despite slowing wage growth.

Economists predict that the economy has added 181,000 jobs last month, with unemployment falling to 3.9%.

If the market generates weaker than expected estimates, the market focus will be on wage growth, which is expected to rise in February. Wage inflation so far has lagged expectations given the tight U.S. labor market, allowing the Federal Reserve to be patient with policy tightening.
Average hourly earnings are expected to grow by 0.3% in the month, resulting in profit growth to 3.3%.

2. China contributes to the global economic gloom

China gave more signs of economic weakness with trade data in February. Exports fell to three-year lows, with the second largest economy in the world and the largest trading nation also declining imports for a third consecutive month.

Data added to global economic outlook after China cut its forecast for 2019 to grow from 6% to 6.5% earlier this week, from 6.6% in 2018.

3. Stocks drop as China data stokes global slowdown fears

Bad data from China raised concerns about the global slowdown, leading to a decline in stocks. Asian shares collapsed, with the Shanghai Composite falling by 4.4%, while Japan's Nikkei fell by 2%.

European stocks followed a general malaise, as the surprise decline in German factory orders increased unpleasant moods.

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