By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stock futures drew positive momentum
from a strong jobs report that suggest at least, on its face, that
the U.S. economy is stronger than many economists' estimates.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) put on 106
points, or 0.6%, to 16,830, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPZ4) climbed 12.8 points, or 0.7%, to 1,951.10. Futures for the
Nasdaq 100 index (NDZ4) added 26.25 points, or 0.7%, to
4,004.25.
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: The U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September and
hiring in August turned out to be a lot stronger than forecasts,
showing the U.S. economy entered the fall with rising momentum. The
unemployment rate fell to 5.9%, falling below 6% mark for the first
time since 2008.
Separately, the U.S. trade deficit fell 0.5% to $40.1 billion in
August, marking the lowest level since January as the nation
exported a record amount of petroleum and imported less. An update
on the September ISM nonmanufacturing reading is due 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 announcing that the chief financial officer Douglas Muir will
retire in 2015. Muir will remain until a successor is named. (Read
more about the day's notable stocks in Movers & Shakers column
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-jp-morgan-krispy-kreme-in-focus-2014-10-03.).
Other markets: Asian markets closed mostly in positive
territory, and European markets rebounded after a sharp selloff on
Thursday. The dollar rose agains rivals after the jobs report,
recovering after a sharp slide over the past two sessions. Oil
futures climbed, while most metals declined.
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