US equity futures are experiencing an upward trend this Friday as market participants eagerly anticipate the national employment situation report for February along with significant speeches from central bank officials. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen by 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq has gained 0.6% in premarket activity.
In contrast, Asian exchanges are predominantly showing lower trends, and European bourses are tracking in the red as the midday mark approaches on the continent. The nonfarm payroll report for the prior month is scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET. Current forecasts suggest that the US economy added 160,000 nonfarm jobs in February, which would represent an increase from the previous gain of 143,000 jobs recorded for the prior month, as indicated by a recent Bloomberg poll. Moreover, Friday's economic calendar includes the weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil and gas rig count set for 1 pm, followed closely by the Federal Reserve's consumer credit bulletin for January, which is slated for release at 3 pm. Several key Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to deliver addresses today: Fed Governor Michelle Bowman and New York Fed President John Williams at 10:15 am, followed by Fed Governor Adriana Kugler at 12:20 pm, and then again at 1 pm.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also slated to speak at 12:30 pm. In trading news, shares of Broadcom have jumped by 11% during pre-bell trading after the chipmaker announced better-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter. Conversely, Costco Wholesale's stock has declined by 1.9% after reporting fiscal second-quarter earnings that fell short of market expectations.
Furthermore, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has seen its shares tumble by 20% in response to its latest quarterly results. In other movements, Walgreens Boots Alliance has advanced 5.9% as the drug-store operator has reached an agreement to be acquired and taken private by an affiliate of Sycamore Partners, in a transaction valued at up to $23.7 billion. Various companies, including Algonquin Power & Utilities and Advantage Solutions, are expected to report their earnings early this Friday. Prior to the market opening, bitcoin showed a slight decrease of 0.1%, settling at $88,904.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices have climbed by 1.6%, reaching $67.41 a barrel. Yields on 10-year Treasuries have slipped by one basis point to 4.27%, and gold has remained stable at $2,927 an ounce..