NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set for a flat start on Friday, buoyed after the release of an important job market report, even as the rest of the world endured a selloff.
Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly higher. The futures were lower most of the morning, but headed into positive territory after the release of the monthly payroll report.
Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.
U.S. stocks dived Thursday, with the blue-chip Dow briefly falling below the 10,000 mark, amid fears about the growing debt crisis in Greece, Spain and Portugal. The Dow finished the session down 2.6% while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both sank 3%.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners, said the European debt concerns will continue to dog the market Friday.
"Right now the market is still traumatized over the debt in Greece, Portugal and Spain," he said. "The cost to finance the debt has gone through the roof in Euroland."
World markets: The selloff continued overseas. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei retreated 2.9% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 3.3%.
European shares tumbled in midday trading. London's FT-100 was down 1.5%, Paris' CAC-40 slid 2.5% and Frankfurt's DAX slid by 1.2%.
Jobs: The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy shed 20,000 jobs in January, which was worse than expected. However, the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7%, the lowest it has been since August 2009.
The government was expected to show a net gain of 15,000 jobs for the month, with an unemployment rate of 10%, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Companies: Troubled automaker Toyota (TM) said Friday it was looking into the brakes of its latest Lexus hybrid vehicles because they use the same system as that used on the 2010 Prius.
The problem is the latest for Toyota, which is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration due to braking problems with the Prius.
Cash and bonds: The dollar was mixed against most international currencies, rising against the pound and the yen but dropping against the euro. The price of the 10-year note fell, pushing up the yield to 3.62%.
Oil and gold: The price of oil rose 17 cents per barrel to $73.31. The price of gold dropped $3 per ounce to $1,059.40. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.80% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.09% | 3.11% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.65% | 2.69% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.77% | 3.86% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.09% | 3.21% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,454.83 | -74.92 | -0.60% |
| Nasdaq | 2,837.53 | -1.85 | -0.07% |
| S&P 500 | 1,317.82 | -2.86 | -0.22% |
| Treasuries | 1.74 | -0.01 | -0.80% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.15 | 0.01 | 0.14% |
| Sprint Nextel Corp | 2.62 | 0.09 | 3.56% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 16.33 | -0.06 | -0.37% |
| Chesapeake Energy Co... | 15.81 | 0.23 | 1.48% |
| Ford Motor Co | 10.60 | 0.01 | 0.09% |
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