US stock futures are moving higher in Friday's premarket activity as investors await key employment and manufacturing data set to be released later in the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were rising 0.5%. Oil prices were surging higher, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude rising 2% and 2.2% respectively.
The unemployment rate for October is expected to remain unchanged at 4.1%, while nonfarm payrolls for the month are forecast to fall to 106,000 from 254,000 the previous month. Meanwhile, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index is expected to stay unchanged for October at 47.8 and remain below the 50-point threshold demarcating contraction from expansion. In equities, shares of Globalstar ($GSAT) jumped 52% after the company said in a regulatory filing Friday that it has updated its service agreements with Apple (AAPL) to expand its mobile satellite services network.
Theriva Biologics ($TOVX) shares surged 43% after it said late Thursday that it has been named as one of five finalists for Merck's (MRK) Advance Biotech Grant. Shares of VS MEDIA ($VSME) advanced 36% following an 11% loss the previous session. On the losing side, shares of Essa Pharma ($EPIX) plummeted nearly 70% after it said it is terminating a phase 2 trial evaluating the combination of masofaniten and enzalutamide in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer compared with enzalutamide alone.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals ($LXRX) shares plunged 38% after it said late Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration denied its new-drug application for Zynquista to treat glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The FDA said that the benefits of Zynquista do not outweigh the risks in adults.
Shares of Advent Technologies ($ADN.US) fell more than 15% after a 33% gain on Thursday..