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The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.

The intense selling that emerged Thursday in global markets is letting up a little bit this morning after the U.S. reported a weaker-than-expected jobs report for July. The report eased fears somewhat that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon be forced to hike interest rates in response to an accelerating economy and growing inflationary pressures.

S&P 500 stock futures are down about 0.3 per cent, cutting losses from before the 0830 a.m. (ET) report roughly in half. Bonds yields fell immediately on the jobs data.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls in July rose 209,000, below the 230,000 that was expected and below June's gain of 288,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose a notch to 6.2 per cent, although that was attributed to more people entering the workforce.

The Dow tumbled 317 points Thursday, its worst day in months, wiping out all of its remaining gains for the year. The TSX fell 194 points.

A number of concerns were blamed for the selloff Thursday, ranging from some surprisingly weak corporate earnings reports to the ongoing geopolitical worries in places such as Ukraine and Gaza. There was also the debt default in Argentina, which highlighted the precarious debt positions of some overseas governments.

But what appears to be concerning market players the most is signals that the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in years could be approaching faster than many had expected, at a time when equity markets have long seemed overdue for a pullback in a multi-year bull market.

On Thursday, in a report that typically doesn't grab a lot of attention, the U.S. said its employment cost index rose on a larger-than-expected increase in wages. That could push up inflation and prompt the Federal Reserve to start tightening monetary policy.

But today's jobs report found that average hourly earnings in July rose only 1 cent. That left the annual rate of increase at 2.0 per cent, a level that provides the Fed ample room to keep interest rates near record lows.

Market players are clearly shifting their expectations for the first rate hike. Based on futures contracts, traders see about 79 per cent odds that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate to at least 0.5 per cent by September 2015, according to Bloomberg. The figure was less than 70 per cent on July 1.

In overseas markets today, European market players were further discouraged after ArcelorMittal, the giant steelmaker, lowered its full-year profit forecast, sending shares in the company tumbling more than 6 per cent. Meanwhile, a batch of purchasing managers indexes showed that growth in the euro zone manufacturing sector eased slightly in July.

PMI manufacturing data was also released for China today, and the reports reinforced recent evidence that the growth rate in the giant economy is moving upwards again. China's official purchasing manager's index rose to a better-than-expected 51.7 in July, improving from a  reading of 51 in June. Meanwhile, a similar PMI reading from HSBC also came in at 51.7, an 18-month high.

Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what's to come.

MARKETS:

Equities:

Futures: S&P 500 -0.21 per cent; Dow -0.20 per cent; Nasdaq -0.10 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.24 per cent

Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.91 per cent

Shanghai composite index -0.75 per cent

Japan's Nikkei -0.63 per cent

London's FTSE 100 -1.06 per cent

Germany's DAX -1.61 per cent

France's CAC 40 -0.80 per cent

Stoxx 600 -1.19 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Sep) -0.47 per cent at $97.71 (U.S.) a barrel

Gold (Comex Dec) +0.35 per cent at $1,287.30 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Sep) -0.39 per cent at $3.22 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 91.45 (U.S.), down 0.0024

U.S. dollar index down 0.03 at 81.42

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.55 per cent, down 0.007

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

U.S. nonfarm payrolls in July rose 209,000, below the 230,000 that was expected and below June's gain of 288,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose a notch to 6.2 per cent.

U.S. personal spending rose 0.4 per cent in June, matching the Street consensus. Personal income also rose 0.4 per cent and matched expectations.

(930 a.m. ET) RBC Manufacturing PMI for Canada for July.

(945 a.m. ET) U.S. Markit Manufacturing PMI for July.

(955 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, forecast to come in at 81.4.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. releases manufacturing ISM and construction spending statistics.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Canada and U.S. automakers tentatively scheduled to release July sales.

Enbridge reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 40 cents versus the Street estimated 39 cents.

Bell Aliant reported Q2 EPS of 39 cents (Canadian), 2 cents below Street estimates. Revenue of $683-million slightly missed the consensus of $686-million.

Procter & Gamble reported Q3 EPS of 95 cents (U.S.) versus the Street consensus of 91 cents.

Burger King Worldwide reported EPS of 25 cents (U.S.) versus the Street estimated 23 cents.

Weyerhaeuser reported EPS of 40 cents, higher than the average analyst estimate of 35 cents.

LinkedIn late Thursday reported earnings and revenue above Street expectations. Shares are up 5 per cent in the premarket.

Tesla Motors posted second-quarter revenue that nearly doubled from the prior year, while its adjusted earnings topped expectations. Still, shares fell 1.9 per cent premarket trading.

GoPro shares tumbled 11 per cent to $42.65 in the premarket a day after reporting a bigger second-quarter net loss, pressured by rising costs.

Catamaran reported quarterly EPS that was 3 cents better than estimated. It also beat on revenues and raised the bottom end of its EPS and revenue guidance for fiscal year 2014.

Other earnings today include: Fortis.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

Canaccord upgraded Bombardier to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its target to $5 (Canadian) from $4.25. Raymond James also upgraded Bombardier, to "outperform" from "market perform" as it hiked its price target to $4.50 from $4.25.

Raymond James upgraded Goldcorp to "outperform" from "market perform" and hiked its price target to $33 (U.S.) from $31.

Raymond James upgraded Yamana Gold to "outperform" from "market perform" and hiked its price target to $10.50 (U.S.) from $10.

RBC Dominion Securities downgraded Manitoba Telecom Services to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $31 (Canadian) from $32.

CIBC World Markets downgraded Maple Leaf Foods to "sector performer" from "sector outperformer" and cut its price target to $21 (Canadian) from $22.

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For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities.

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