Stocks are poised for a considerable rally on Friday, as the day's much better than expected jobs report has fueled considerable risk appetite. The major index futures are substantially higher, with the Dow futures up by 109 points.
Boosting trader sentiment this morning was a report from the U.S. Labor Department which said that non-farm payrolls dropped by 11,000 in November - a significant improvement from the 111,000 jobs lost in October. The figure surprised economists, most of whom had expected job losses to once again total more than 100,000.
The report also revealed that the unemployment rate moved down to 10.0 percent for the month after reaching a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October. Economists forecast the rate to remain at 10.2 percent.
Also on tap will be the report on factory goods orders for October, slated for release by the Commerce Department at 10:00 a.m. ET. Economists expect the durable goods orders to remain flat for the month compared to a 0.9 percent increase in September.
In corporate news this morning, broad-line retailer Big Lots Inc. (BIG) reported that its adjusted third-quarter net income came in at $0.27 per share beating the $0.18 expected by Wall Street analysts. Net sales for the third quarter rose were $1.04 billion, topping the forecast of $1.02 billion.
After the markets closed for trading in the previous session, chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) said that its third quarter profit surged from last year, helped by higher revenue, improved margins and a tax benefit. The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also breezed past Wall Street expectations as did its quarterly revenue.
Software solutions provider Novell Inc. (NOVL) reported a wider net loss for the fourth quarter, hurt by goodwill impairment, and restructuring expenses. Looking ahead, the company provided revenue outlook for the first quarter, which is estimated to beat the Street expectations.
Stocks came under pressure in late day trading on Thursday, as some traders pulled capital out of equities ahead of tomorrow's all-important monthly jobs report. The Dow fell by 87 points to 10,366, the Nasdaq declined by 12 points to 2,173 and the S&P 500 dropped by 9 points to 1,100.
Crude oil futures are moving lower, falling by $0.55 at $75.91 a barrel after falling by $0.14 to $76.46 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures, which rose by $5.18 in the previous session to a fresh all-time closing high of $1,218.30 an ounce, are currently down by $12.50 to $1,205.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is mixed against the major European currencies, rising to $1.4995 against the euro while still down at $1.6605 against the pound. Meanwhile, the buck is at a two and a half week high against the yen, trading at 89.25 yen.
In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed on a mixed note on Friday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are moving higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, while the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1 percent.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.