After a week of contradictory economic news, investors are anxious to learn how many jobs were created last month, and whether the job market continues to be one of the economy's stronger pillars. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR predict non-farm payrolls grew by 85,000, compared with growth of 110,000 in September.

Wall Street plunged Thursday amid worries that the U.S. could be stuck in a period of slowing economic growth and rising inflation -- and that the Federal Reserve would refrain from further interest rate cuts to ensure that inflation doesn't get out of hand. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 360 points.

The market was also unnerved by news that consumers cut back their spending in September and that the manufacturing sector expanded in October at the slowest pace since March. Still, earlier in the week, an initial estimate of third-quarter economic growth came in stronger than economists had expected, at 3.9 percent.

Dow futures dipped 6.00 to 13,602.00. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures shed 2.50, or 0.16 percent, to 1,513.30. Nasdaq 100 index futures lost 0.50, or 0.02 percent, to 2,215.00.

Oil prices rebounded in preopening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dropping sharply a day ago. Prices have been exceptionally volatile in recent days as the market treads through record territory. A barrel of oil rose 14 cents to $93.63 after topping $96 overnight Wednesday.

Gold prices dipped in electronic trading, while the dollar traded mixed.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.02 percent, Germany's DAX index shed 0.84, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.89 percent.

Asian markets tumbled in the wake of Wall Street's losses on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.09 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 3.25 percent.