US jobs report; US-China trade talks; Samsung warning

The economy added 311,000 jobs in January, but the number of new positions slumped dramatically in February to just 20,000. Analysts expect March to be somewhere in the middle.

Economists polled by Refinitiv estimate that employers added 180,000 jobs last month. They think the unemployment rate will remain steady at 3.8%, and that wages will again rise by 3.4%.

That would be a reassuring outcome. Another low number, on the other hand, would reinforce the idea that February's weakness was a sign that the US economy's bad month wasn't because of the weather.

2. Trade deal hopes: President Donald Trump on Thursday hinted the United States and China may be inching closer to finalizing a deal to end a year-long trade impasse.

The US president said following a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that a "very monumental" agreement could be announced "within the next four week or maybe less, or maybe more, whatever it takes."

Trump declined to confirm reports that he would hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.

Xi on Friday urged negotiators to "finish the negotiations on the text of the Sino-US economic and trade agreement as early as possible," according to Xinhua, China's state media agency.

Maurizio Zanardi, a professor of international economics at Lancaster University, said that at this point, "the markets care about actions not announcements."

3. Samsung warning: Samsung (SSNLF) said Friday that it expects operating profit for the first quarter to plunge by 60% compared to the same period year ago.

The South Korean technology giant warned last week that its earnings would be hit by slowing demand for memory chips and display panels, a sign that device makers and their suppliers are coming under pressure.

The company estimated Friday that operating profit for the first three months of 2019 will total 6.2 trillion Korean won ($5.4 billion), lower than analysts' already downbeat expectations.

Samsung is the world's biggest seller of smartphones. But it also has a huge business making key components for rival handset manufacturers. That means it suffers on both fronts when the industry runs into trouble.

4. Germany in focus: German industrial production rose more than expected in February, according to data released on Friday.

Germany only narrowly avoided recession at the end of last year and recent economic data have been mixed at best. Factory orders plunged in the first two months of 2019 and sentiment surveys reflect pessimism.

The German economy is powered by exports, and a sharp slowdown in growth in China or a messy Brexit could further reduce demand for German products.

One bright spot for the country, however, is resilient consumers at home.

"Consumption benefits from rising incomes and a resilient labor market," said Florian Hense, an economist at Berenberg bank. "The key question is how long [it] can hold up," he added.

5. Global market overview: US stock futures were pointing higher. European markets opened mixed, following a mostly positive trading session in Asia.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.6% on Thursday. The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq was flat.

6. Companies: Shares in Tesla (TSLA) fell more than 8% on Thursday after the company reported a big drop in deliveries last quarter.

CEO Elon Musk also appeared in federal court in New York, the latest chapter in his ongoing battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

7. Coming this week:
Friday — US March jobs report

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