U.S. equity futures showed positive momentum ahead of the opening bell on Friday as traders prepared for the national employment situation report for October. The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both increased by 0.3%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.4% in premarket activity. Most Asian exchanges were in the red, whereas European bourses were trending upwards by midday. Scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET, the jobs report for last month is anticipated to reveal nonfarm payroll growth of 106,000 in October, indicating a deceleration from the 254,000 increase reported the previous month, based on a consensus compiled by Bloomberg. The economic calendar for Friday also includes the October purchasing managers' index for manufacturing from S&P Global at 9:45 am, followed by the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for the same month at 10 am.
Additionally, the September construction spending report is set for release at 10 am. The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count will be posted at 1 pm, while Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan is scheduled to speak at 9:45 am. Shares of Amazon.com surged 6.7% after the e-commerce giant reported third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
In contrast, Apple saw a decline of 1.1%, despite the iPhone maker delivering better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. Intel's stock rose 6% as the chipmaker provided a positive outlook for its fourth-quarter earnings. Boeing's stock climbed 2.4% following news that the plane manufacturer reached a new tentative agreement on a labor contract with striking union leaders. Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron are scheduled to release their latest financial results before the bell, along with several other companies, including Enbridge, Simon Property Group, Dominion Energy, Charter Communications, Cardinal Health, Church & Dwight, and Wayfair. Before the opening bell, bitcoin dropped 0.6% to $69,888.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 2% to $70.66 per barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries rose by 1.3 basis points to nearly 4.3%, and gold increased by 0.3% to $2,756 per ounce..