U.S. stocks were headed for a sharp sell-off at Friday's open, following a weak report from the government showing a disappointing slowdown in job growth.
Over the last few months, signs of a stalling recovery have been building, with stocks delivering their worst monthly performance in May since August 2010.
The government's May jobs report only exacerbated those worries.
Employers added a mere 54,000 jobs last month, down from a downwardly revised 232,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate nudged up to 9.1%.
That was much worse than 170,000 expected obs were created in May, and that the unemployment rate would hav ticked down to 8.9%.
The Institute for Supply Management will put out its May services index at 14:00 GMT. Economists are looking for the index to edge up to 53.3 from April's 52.8.
Oil for July delivery slipped $1.70 to $98.70 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gas prices inched up for a second day, following a 20-day streak of declines.
Gold futures for July delivery rose $8.20 to $1,540.20 an ounce.
Companies: The U.S. Treasury announced Friday it sold off its last remaining stake of Chrysler Group LLC to Italian automaker Fiat, which already holds a controlling share. The Treasury said on Thursday that it will sell its 6% stake -- 98,461 shares -- to Fiat for $500 million.
On Thursday, online coupon company Groupon filed for a $750 million initial public offering. Groupon plans to trade under the symbol "GRPN."
World markets:

Moody's Investors Service said Friday it has downgraded the deposit and senior debt ratings of eight Greek banks.