WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stock futures have turned positive on Friday following the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 30 points.
The turnaround by the futures came after the Labor Department released a report showing U.S. employment increased by less than expected in the month of September, although the report also showed upward revisions to job growth in the two previous months.
The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 136,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 145,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the increases in employment in July and August were upwardly revised to 166,000 jobs and 168,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting the addition of 45,000 more jobs than previously reported.
The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in September from 3.7 percent in August. Economists had expected to unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
The unexpected drop in the unemployment rate came as a 391,000-person jump in the household survey measure of employment more than offset an 117,000-person increase in the size of the labor force.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than anticipated in the month of August.
The report said the trade deficit widened to $54.9 billion in August from $54.0 billion in July. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to $54.5 billion.
The wider trade deficit came as the value of imports climbed by 0.5 percent to $262.8 billion, while the value of exports rose by 0.2 percent to $207.9 billion.
After seeing substantial volatility early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the upward move, the major averages partly offset the steep losses posted in the two previous sessions.
The major averages all closed firmly in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming its counterparts. While the Nasdaq surged up 87.02 points or 1.1 percent to 7,872.26, the S&P 500 advanced 23.02 points or 0.8 percent to 2,910.63 and the Dow rose 122.42 points or 0.5 percent to 26,201.04.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.5 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.54 to $52.99 a barrel after slipping $0.19 to $52.45 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after rising $5.90 to $1,513.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $5.70 to $1,508.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 107.03 yen versus the 106.92 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0962 compared to yesterday's $1.0965.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
