US pre-open: Futures point to gains ahead of non-farm payrolls report
Wall Street futures were pointing to another solid session on Friday after representatives from the US and China held a phone call aimed at reducing tensions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 1.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 1.08% and 1.03% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 211.25 points higher on Thursday as oil prices rebounded and the government's latest jobless claims figures came in slightly lower than anticipated.
Friday's focus will be the Labor Department's monthly jobs report for April, with analysts expecting a reading of 21.5m jobs lost in the month - a record loss.
However, with investors still betting on the US economy reopening soon and expectations that tech stocks will have recorded solid revenues throughout the shutdown, stocks were again higher.
Also boosting sentiment was news that US trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and his Chinese counterpart Liu He, as well as treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, had held a phone call on Friday that resulted in the two largest economies in the world agreeing to strengthen macroeconomic and public-health cooperation.
On the data front, the all-important non-farm payrolls figures will be out at 1330 BST, while wholesale inventories data will be published at 1500 BST.
In the corporate space, Red Lion Hotels and SeaWorld Entertainment will both publish earnings on Friday.