The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report might be the major economic announcement on Friday.
In the Asian trading session, the dollar dipped, while gold recovered from a two-week low. Oil ticked higher.
Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading broadly higher.
Initial trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive.
As of 8.00 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 186.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 22.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 62.75 points.
The U.S. major averages closed in positive territory on Thursday. The Nasdaq jumped 264.40 points or 1.5 percent to 17,710.74, the S&P 500 climbed 35.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,604.14 and the Dow rose 83.60 points or 0.2 percent to 40,752.96.
On the economic front, the Employment Situation report for April will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 130K, while it was up 228K in the prior month.
The Labor department’s Unemployment rate was up 4.2 percent, while it was up at 4.2 percent in the prior month. The manufacturing payrolls for April is expected to decline by 3000, while it was up 1000 in March. The average hourly earnings is projected to be 3.9 percent, while it was up 3.8 percent in the previous month. Average workweek is expected to be 34.2 hours. ‘
The Factory Orders for March is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is up 4.5 percent, while it was up 0.6 percent in the previous month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is scheduled at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 715 and the U.S. rig count was 587.
Asian stocks advanced on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 1.7 percent to 22,504.68.
Japanese markets rose sharply. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.0 percent to 36,830.69, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.3 percent higher at 2,687.78.
Australian markets ended sharply higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1 percent to 8,238, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 1.1 percent at 8,456.20.
Business News
Wall Street Set To Open Positive
2025-05-02 12:36:58
