U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a firm opening on the Wall Street, buoyed by better-than-expected jobs report.
Mini Dow industrial average futures gained 124.00 points to 12,790.00. The Nasdaq Futures advanced 26.50 points to 2,518.00. Standard and Poor's 500 futures rose 13.30 points to 1,336.00.
On the economic front, non-farm payrolls grew by 243,000 in January, and the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The unemployment rate has declined by 0.8 point since August. Economists expected the non-farm payrolls to increase by 135,000 last month and unemployment rate unchanged at 8.5 percent.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks finished on a lacklustre note, as investors remained cautious ahead of a key jobs report on Friday. Mixed corporate results and better jobless claims data also weighed on the sentiment.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: (GILD, TSN, EL, TRMB, SUN, ATML)
In corporate news, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) climbed 7.6 percent to $53.10 in premarket after the biopharmaceutical company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue. Top-line rose 10 percent to $2.20 billion, while analysts expected $2.18 billion.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN) rose 2.5 percent to $19.10 after the meat processor reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings as its chicken segment swung to a profit. Earnings per share dropped to 42 cents from 78 cents, yet beat consensus of 33 cents. It blamed significant decline in margins and higher costs for lower profit.
Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) slumped 7.1 percent to $54.80 in premarket. The skin-care products maker forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings per share between $0.28 and $0.32 per share, trailing consensus of $0.41 per share.
Trimble Navigation Ltd. (NASDAQ:TRMB) soared 8.4 percent to $52.20 in premarket trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. Non-GAAP net income per share was 54 cents, topping expectations of 48 cents. Revenue jumped 35 percent to $435.2 million, above consensus of $419.1 million.
Sunoco Inc. (NYSE:SUN) advanced 7.1 percent to $41.00 in premarket. The company plans to buyback up to 19.9 percent of stock, and increase the quarterly dividend by 33 percent to 20 cents a share. The petroleum refiner also announced the promotion of CFO Brian MacDonald to
Atmel Corp. (NASDAQ:ATML) dropped 4.9 percent to $9.60 in premarket after the microcontroller developer revised its fourth-quarter revenue forecast to $384 million.
Global Markets:
The European markets traded higher following U.S. jobs report, with Germany's DAX inching 0.08 percent higher to trade at 6,660.69. France's CAC40 edged 0.05 percent higher to 3,378.31. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.45 percent to 5,822.33.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil was trading lower by 0.04 percent at $96.320 per barrel. Gold advanced 0.13 percent to $1,761.5 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro strengthened 0.31 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3185, and the British pound edged 0.04 percent higher against the greenback. The dollar rose 0.35 percent against the Japanese yen to 76.4900.