(MENAFN– ecpulse) Investors seemed ready to shake off global concerns on Friday, as they turn to the U.S. economy for the release of June’s job numbers, where its result is seen as the key factor determining the Federal Reserve’s next move on monetary policy.
U.S. stock market futures were notably higher Friday ahead of the release of the jobs report, as recent labor market numbers gave investors some reason for optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.965% higher at 15060 points. Futures on the S&P 500 index rose 0.938% to 1624.20 points. The NASDAQ 100 index futures gained 0.996% to 2965.75 points. As of 06:26 a.m. ET
Renewed political instability in Europe, violent clashes in Egypt and concerns about rising oil prices caused global markets to falter this week.
Oil prices topped $100 a barrel , the highest levels in more than a year, on fears that problems in Egypt could spread beyond its borders.
Jobs numbers were mostly better than expected this week, mostly from the ADP`s monthly figure on private-sector payrolls. These figures came in above expectations. First-time jobless claims came in slightly below forecasts.
Economists are expecting gains of 165,000 jobs in June in today’s Labor Department report, while the unemployment rate, now at 7.6%, is forecast to drop a notch to 7.5%
However, analysts might look at today’s numbers as a “good is bad” situation, as if the nonfarm payrolls figure was higher, investors could worry about the Fed paring back its bond-buying program sooner, and if that would sink in, it will have a negative effect on the stock market, and give a boost to the U.S. dollar and bond yields.
The Dow Jones industrial average , the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ ended up between 0.1 % and 0.4%, on Wednesday, before going into the Fourth of July Holiday (Independence Day) yesterday.
European markets were bouncing around the flat line Friday, after a day that saw markets such as the FTSE 100 index soared 3%, in the biggest one-day gain since late 2011.
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