U.S. stock futures dipped Friday ahead of the key monthly payrolls report as traders fretted that a week of generally negative economic releases could continue. S&P 500 futures dropped 2.7 points to 1,024.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 5.5 points to 1,665.00. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points. U.S. stocks were hammered Thursday as the fourth quarter kicked off, with the employment component of the ISM manufacturing index triggering worries over the health of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 203 points, the S&P 500 fell 27 points and the Nasdaq Composite lost 64 points. It was the worst performance on the opening day of a quarter since January 2001, when the S&P 500 dropped 2.8%, according to data compiled by FactSet Research. However, there may have been an element of a reversal of window dressing -- referring to the practice of fund managers buying the quarter's winners so that they appear on the holdings list they give to clients. Friday's focus turns to the employment data due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. U.S. nonfarm payrolls probably fell by 167,000 in the month to about 131 million, marking the 21st consecutive month of falling employment, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. The official unemployment rate is expected to rise to 9.8% in September from 9.7% in August, the worst since June 1983. Other events in the spotlight include the International Monetary Fund and the G7 meeting in Istanbul and Ireland's second vote on a European Union treaty. Troubled lender CIT Group (CIT 1.26, +0.20, +18.87%) shot up 26% as the company announced a fresh restructuring program without which the company said lead to bankruptcy. Accenture (ACN 36.15, -0.38, -1.04%) edged 0.1% lower after the IT consulting company issued an earnings and revenue projection below analyst expectations. First Solar (FSLR 149.10, +5.34, +3.72%) rose nearly 4% after Standard & Poor's said the Tempe, Ariz.-based maker of solar power modules will be added to the S&P 500, replacing Wyeth (WYE 48.26, -0.32, -0.66%) which is being bought by Pfizer. Apple (AAPL 182.52, +1.66, +0.92%) was up about 1% after UBS upgraded the tech darling to buy. Global markets took it on the chin after the Wall Street hammering, with the Nikkei 225 sliding 2.5% in Tokyo and the FTSE 100 slipping 0.9% in London. The dollar traded below 90 yen, and oil futures fell back under $70. Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds, which on Thursday fell to their lowest closing level since mid-May, dipped 3 basis points to 3.15%.

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