By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a solid
open on Wall Street on Friday as investors waited for the top-tier
nonfarm-payrolls report, expected to show that the labor market
rebounded in September.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) put on 67
points, or 0.4%, to 16,791, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPZ4) climbed 9.50 points, or 0.5%, to 1,948.10. Futures for the
Nasdaq 100 index (NDZ4) added 18.25 points, or 0.5%, to
3,996.25.
The strength for futures came after a choppy day on Thursday,
when the benchmarks closed around the flatline after swinging
wildly between gains and losses throughout the day.
Data: Nonfarm-payrolls data -- one of the most closely watched
monthly releases -- is due out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Economists are expecting an upbeat reading on the state of the U.S.
labor market. Analysts polled by MarketWatch forecast that 220,000
new jobs were added to the economy in September, much better than
the disappointing 142,000 jobs that were created in August. The
unemployment rate is expected to remain at 6.1%. Read: Rebounding
jobs growth seen in September
A strong reading could be met with a selloff in the stock
markets, as it would strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to
tighten monetary policy.
An update on the U.S. trade deficit for August is also due at
8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by the September ISM
nonmanufacturing reading at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Movers: Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) could be on
the move after the bank late Thursday said about 76 million
households were affected by a previously disclosed cybersecurity
breach.
WellPoint Inc. (WLP) could also be active after the health-care
company on Thursday said it is increasing its share-repurchasing
program by $5 billion.
General Motors Co. (GM.XX) is recalling 117,651 vehicles to fix
a faulty chassis-control system that may result in a crash,
Automotive News reported late Thursday.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD) was in the spotlight too,
after the that Chief Financial Officer Douglas Muir will retire in
2015. Muir will remain until a successor is named.
Other markets: Asian markets closed mostly in positive
territory, and European markets rebounded after a sharp selloff on
Thursday. The dollar recovered some ground after a sharp slide over
the past two sessions. Oil futures climbed, while most metals
declined.
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