US stocks were set to end the week on an upbeat mood after employment data showed that the US economy added 313,000 new jobs in February, ahead of economists' expectations.
Oil prices nudged higher with global benchmark Brent Crude up 1.34%, and US crude West Texas Intermediate was up 1.18% recently on news that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet US President Donald Trump.
Data released at 8:30 am showed non-farm payrolls posted a strong growth of 313,000 in February vs estimates for 205,000 and January's 239,000 revised reading. The unemployment rate came in steady at 4.1% as compared to estimates for a tickdown to 4.0%.
Private payrolls rose 287,000 as compared to estimates for 195,000 and the prior revised reading of 238,000, while manufacturing payrolls increased by 31,000 vs estimates for 17,000 and the prior revised 25,000. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1%, while the average workweek came in at 34.5 hours vs estimates for 34.4 hours, according to data compiled by Econoday.
At 10 am, forecasters see wholesale trade inventories rising 0.7% in January vs prior gain of 0.4%.
Federal Reserve President Charles Evans is scheduled to speak.
In equities, shares of Big Lots ( BIG ) were 9.1% lower pre-bell after the company reported Q4 financial results and guided 2018 profit below analyst estimates.
U.S. PRE-MARKET INDICATORS
-Dow Jones Industrial down 0.33%
-S&P 500 futures up 0.26%
-Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.31%
-Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator up 0.44%
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Nikkei up 0.47%
Hang Seng up 1.11%
Shanghai Composite up 0.57%
FTSE-100 down 0.17%
DAX-30 down 0.55%
PRE-MARKET SECTOR WATCH
(+/-) Large cap tech: mixed
(+) Chip stocks: unchanged to higher
(+/-) Software stocks: mixed
(+) Hardware stocks: unchanged to higher
(+) Internet stocks: higher
(+) Oil stocks: unchanged to higher
(+/-) Biotech stocks: unchanged
(+/-) Drug stocks: mixed
(+) Financial stocks: higher
(+) Retail stocks: unchanged to higher
(+/-) Industrial stocks: mixed
(+) Airlines: unchanged to higher
(+/-) Autos: mixed
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) CYTX (+3.8%) Reports wider-than-expected Q4 loss
(+) TXMD (+8.7%) FDA accepts NDA and sets PDUFA data for TX-001HR
(+) PDLI (+24.5%) Reports strong Q4 revenue, earnings
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) ZTO (-8.6%) Tops Q4 estimates
(-) FNSR (-10%) Misses fiscal Q3 expectations
(-) TSLA (-1.6%) Chief accounting officer resigns
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
