Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open on Friday, as investors awaited the release of highly anticipated U.S. employment reports, while comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday continued to support.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% increase.
Markets were eyeing the release of U.S. employment reports later in the day, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting showed on Thursday that the bank is thinking of linking its outlook for near-zero interest rates to specific economic conditions, such as a decline in the unemployment rate.
Meanwhile, sentiment remained supported after ECB President Draghi said on Thursday that the central bank was ready to undertake Outright Monetary Transactions when the prerequisites are in place and reiterated that the ECB was acting strictly within its mandate in undertaking a bond buying program via OMTs.
The tech sector was expected to be active, after Sansung Electronics tipped all-time high quarterly operating profit, likely driven by strong sales of high-end smartphones that offset weak semiconductor orders.
The guidance for Samsung's third quarter earnings showed it was on track to report a record-high quarterly profit for a fourth straight quarter, despite legal tussles with Apple that resulted in a USD1 billion compensation judgment in August. Shares in Apple were down 0.12% in pre-market trade.
In the Internet field, Facebook was likely to be in focus, after the social media giant reported on Thursday it reached the 1 billion user mark last month, while Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it would keep pursuing growth through mobile devices.
Despite the news, shares tumbled 2.08% pre-market.
Meanwhile, social game services company Zynga plummeted 19.36% in pre-market trade, after cutting its forecast for full-year bookings.
Pharmaceutical companie Biogen Idec was also slated to move, after Oppenheimer lowered its recommendation on the third-largest U.S. biotechnology company to market perform, the equivalent of hold, from outperform.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.06%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.08%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.78%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.49%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.58%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.44%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate, as well as a report on average hourly earnings.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% increase.
Markets were eyeing the release of U.S. employment reports later in the day, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting showed on Thursday that the bank is thinking of linking its outlook for near-zero interest rates to specific economic conditions, such as a decline in the unemployment rate.
Meanwhile, sentiment remained supported after ECB President Draghi said on Thursday that the central bank was ready to undertake Outright Monetary Transactions when the prerequisites are in place and reiterated that the ECB was acting strictly within its mandate in undertaking a bond buying program via OMTs.
The tech sector was expected to be active, after Sansung Electronics tipped all-time high quarterly operating profit, likely driven by strong sales of high-end smartphones that offset weak semiconductor orders.
The guidance for Samsung's third quarter earnings showed it was on track to report a record-high quarterly profit for a fourth straight quarter, despite legal tussles with Apple that resulted in a USD1 billion compensation judgment in August. Shares in Apple were down 0.12% in pre-market trade.
In the Internet field, Facebook was likely to be in focus, after the social media giant reported on Thursday it reached the 1 billion user mark last month, while Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it would keep pursuing growth through mobile devices.
Despite the news, shares tumbled 2.08% pre-market.
Meanwhile, social game services company Zynga plummeted 19.36% in pre-market trade, after cutting its forecast for full-year bookings.
Pharmaceutical companie Biogen Idec was also slated to move, after Oppenheimer lowered its recommendation on the third-largest U.S. biotechnology company to market perform, the equivalent of hold, from outperform.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.06%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.08%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.78%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.49%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.58%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.44%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate, as well as a report on average hourly earnings.