(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) which could mean the Federal Reserve will delay any reduction in its monthly bond purchases.
US stock futures jumped on Friday after the government's August unemployment report showed a slowdown in hiring,
The bond purchases are a key part of the central bank's economic stimulus programme.
Dow Jones industrial futures rose 70 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 14,987 a half-hour before regular trading was set to begin. S&P 500 index futures rose nine points, 0.6 per cent, to 1,661. Nasdaq futures rose 16 points, 0.5 per cent, to 3,144.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.88 per cent shortly after the report was released. It was 2.96 per cent just before the report came out, and it traded as high as three per cent on Thursday, its highest level in two years.
Overseas markets also edged higher. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent to 6,546. Germany's DAX rose 0.2 per cent to 8,246 and France's CAC-40 rose 0.4 per cent to 4,025.
Earlier, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell on profit-taking after four sessions of gains. The benchmark index closed down 1.5 per cent at 13,860.81. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 per cent to 1,955.31. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose slightly to 5,145.
Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China have posted gains in recent days after Chinese manufacturing data showed the slowdown in the world's No 2 economy is stabilising.
"Investors are more bullish now and the stock market is poised for a rebound," said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong. "It is a change in investor sentiment."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 per cent to 22,621.22. The Shanghai index advanced 0.8 per cent to 2,139.99. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.5 per cent to 1,030.76.
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