By Alexandra Gibbs, CNBC–

U.S. stock index futures came under pressure ahead of Friday’s open amid investors focusing on jobs report.

Around 5:35 a.m. ET, Dow futures slipped 40 points, indicating a downbeat open of -24.87 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures pointing to a relatively negative start to the day for their respective sessions. Markets in Asia and Europe were mostly lower Friday.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, all eyes will be on the latest batch of nonfarm payrolls data, which aims to shed some light on how the U.S. economy and its labor market has been performing during the last month.

The U.S. economy is expected to have contributed an additional 191,000 jobs in August, according to economists, surveyed by Reuters — an uptick from July’s figure of 157,000 jobs.

Investors will also be paying close attention to the average hourly earnings and unemployment rate from the report; as this report can provide clues as to where the economy and the U.S. Federal Reserve are heading when it comes to monetary policy. Aside from the report out at 8:30 a.m. ET, investors will also be digesting the Quarterly Services Survey, set to come out at 10 a.m. ET.

Meanwhile. trade anxiety continues to weigh in on market sentiment. Tensions continue to ramp up between the States and China, with China saying Thursday that it would be compelled to retaliate if the States enforced any fresh trade levies; Reuters reported.

The U.S. administration is gearing up for a potential new round of tariffs, following the end of a public comment period, which terminated Thursday midnight in Washington. Investors will be paying close attention to this story to see if any news unfolds in the coming hours or days.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump told a Wall Street Journal columnist that he will take his trade fights to Japan next. The news sent the dollar lower against the yen on Friday morning.

Elsewhere, talks between the U.S. and Canada continue to rumble on, as both nations work towards a compromise that would provide a new agreement, to replace the current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pact.

No major earnings are due to be released Friday.