(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stock futures turned positive in early trading Friday as the U.S. added more jobs than expected in December while the unemployment rate ticked lower.
Futures on the three major US stock indexes were up between 0.2% and 0.4% as of 8:45am ET after falling earlier this morning. On Thursday U.S. stock averages rallied as oil steadied and as investors received a lift from dovish comments from a voting Fed member. The Dow rallied 323 points yesterday erasing 2015 losses.
Kicking off the economic calendar today the Labor Department reported that 252000 non farm jobs were added in December far better than expected gains of 240000. This is the 11th consecutive month of job gains above 200000 the longest such stretch since 1994 reinforcing views that the economy is strong enough to weather storms in Europe Japan and China.
The unemployment rate also dropped to 5.6% from 5.8% again better than anticipated. In addition November job gains were revised up to 353000 from 321000 while October job gains were upped to 261000 from 243000 previously.
Later in the morning investors will also get wholesale trade numbers for November which are due to be released at 10:00am ET and are expected to increase 0.4%.
In corporate activity Macy's () fell premarket after announcing the closing of more than a dozen stores. It expects to take charges of up to $110 million for the move and is also exploring whether or not to launch an off-price brand.
Gap () edged up after the retailer reported a 1% increase in December same store sales and a 3% rise in holiday season comparable sales.
() late Thursday released quarterly earnings and revenue that were in line with estimates but the retailer's comparable store sales came in short of forecasts due to increased promotional and shipping expenses. Shares were down more than 4% premarket Friday.
Meanwhile Wet Seal (NASDAQ:WTSL) plunged over 30% before the opening bell on reports it has hired restructuring lawyers to help the company with a potential bankruptcy filing just days after announcing the closure of 338 stores and 3700 job cuts.
() was also in the spotlight as Nelson Peltz's activist investment firm has launched a proxy fight against the company to add four directors to its board.
() is planning to cut another 500 jobs with the closure of two Pillsbury dough factories coming on top of the 1400 job cuts it announced last year.
Elsewhere () is reportedly planning to launch a shopping site for people to compare and buy auto insurance policies. A business calld Compare Auto Insurance Services has obtained licenses to sell insurance in 26 U.S. states and is authorized to sell auto policies on behalf of six insurers according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
(NASDAQ:TWTR) is planning to unveil its new video product in the next few weeks to allow users to shoot edit and post video directly through the app.
European shares were lower today with shares in France leading the region after weak industrial data from three large eurozone economies suggest the area is far from a sustained recovery. Industrial output in Germany fell in November by 0.1% missing expectations for a 0.4% rise. The country's trade surplus also narrowed more than expected.
Stocks in China ended lower today as well after hitting their highest level in over five years earlier in the session on speculation the government will ease monetary policy further.
In commodities oil futures in New York turned positive after the employment report while gold futures edged up $5 to $1213 an ounce.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.